Sam Williams (basketball, born 1924)

Sam Williams
Biographical details
Sport(s)	Basketball
Born	June 29, 1924 Daingerfield, Texas
Died	October 22, 2012(2012-10-22) (aged 88) McAllen, Texas
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
195?–1958	McAllen HS
1958–1973	Texas–Pan American
Head coaching record
Overall	244–164 (0.598)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 NAIA National Championship (1963)
Awards
NAIA National Coach of the Year (1964) UTPA Hall of Fame (2007) Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame

Walter "Sam" Williams (June 29, 1924 – October 22, 2012)^[1] was an American college basketball coach. He is considered an early pioneer of racial integration in the college game^[2] and is the University of Texas–Pan American's all-time leader in wins (244),^[3] including its only men's basketball national championship in 1962–63.^[2] Williams is referred to as the "Father of Broncs Basketball" at Texas Pan–American.^[1] He oversaw the school's transition from a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) program into a NCAA Division I program.^[1] During his 15 year tenure, he had 11 winning seasons, 4 20-win seasons, and 244 total victories.

The UTPA Fieldhouse, where the team plays their home games, had its center court rededicated to Williams on November 20, 2010.^[2] He was also named head coach emeritus, becoming just the second former coach at Texas Pan–American to earn that honor (baseball coach Al Ogletree was the first).^[2]

Williams died on October 22, 2012, from natural causes.^[1]

Head coaching record

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Postseason
Texas–Pan American Broncs (Big State Conference) (1958–1962)
1958-59	Texas Pan-American	12-11	3-5
1959-60	Texas Pan-American	17-9	3-5
1960-61	Texas Pan-American	15-16	5-3
1961-62	Texas Pan-American	24-6	9-1	NAIA Second Round
Texas–Pan American Broncs (Independent) (1962–1973)
1962-63	Texas-Pan American	25-6		NAIA Champions
1963-64	Texas-Pan American	28-6		NAIA Runner-up
1964-65	Texas-Pan American	19-7
1965-66	Texas-Pan American	15-12
1966-67	Texas-Pan American	15-9
1967-68	Texas-Pan American	21-6		NCAA Division II Second Round
1968-69	Texas-Pan American	9-16
1969-70	Texas-Pan American	8-16
1970-71	Texas-Pan American	13-3
1971-72	Texas-Pan American	17-7
1972-73	Texas-Pan American	4-22
Texas Pan American:		244-160	24-12
Total:		244-160
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

References

1 2 3 4 "Walter Sam Williams obituary". The Monitor. Legacy.com. October 25, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
1 2 3 4 UTPA Athletics Media Relations (November 23, 2010). "UTPA rededicates Sam Williams Court, Williams named Head Coach Emeritus". University of Texas–Pan American. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
↑ "UTPA Mourns Passing of Sam Williams". UTPAbroncs.com. University of Texas–Pan American. October 22, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2014.

Texas–Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men's basketball head coaches

L. A. Youngman (1952–1954)
Harry Meng (1954–1956)
John Donnelly (1956–1958)
Sam Williams (1958–1973)
Abe Lemons (1973–1976)
Bill White (1976–1982)
Lon Kruger (1982–1986)
Kevin Wall (1986–1992)
Mark Adams (1992–1997)
Delray Brooks (1997–1999)
Bob Hoffman (1999–2004)
Robert Davenport (2004–2006)
Tom Schuberth (2006–2009)
Ryan Marks (2009–2013)
Dan Hipsher (2013–2016)
Lew Hill (2016– )

Texas–Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros head baseball coaches

Jim Brooks (1955) John Donnelly (1956–1958) Red Connor (1959–1960) Sam Williams (1961) Earl Gartman (1962–1963) Chuck Young (1964–1965) Larry Emsminger (1966–1968) Al Ogletree (1969–1997) Reggie Tredaway (1998–2002) Willie Gawlik (2003–2008) Manny Mantrana (2009– )

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