If you're wondering why Don Haskins didn't attend a single UTEP game last season, it's because he had part of his foot amputated after complications from diabetes. And the surgery made walking difficult and eventually forced him into a wheelchair. And the Hall of Fame coach just wasn't going to let you view him like that.
"He was such a proud man," said Dan Wetzel, the author of Glory Road. "He didn't want people to see him that way."
With those words, Wetzel went quiet for a moment.
It was understandable.
The Yahoo! Sports columnist started the day covering a Dallas Cowboys game and ended it with the news that Haskins-- a man Wetzel said was "like a second father" -- died Sunday at the age of 78. That's a helluva tough way to spend the weekend, even if most close to Haskins knew his time was running out.
"The El Paso community and people who knew him best knew his health had gotten to a point that his better days were behind him," UTEP coach Tony Barbee said by phone while on his way to a press conference in El Paso. "But it's still a shock because it's a tragedy. He did so much for so many people."
Haskins' most famous achievement was how he broke color barriers in 1966 when he used five black starters to win the national title at Texas Western, now known as UTEP. It was a significant moment in college athletics, yet one that brought death threats to Haskins, who remained unfazed and by extension forced other programs from other leagues to change with the times.
For that, he'll forever be a relevant figure in history.
For Barbee, he was an asset in the short time they spent together.
"The wisdom he imparted on me in these past two years has been invaluable," said Barbee, who became UTEP's first black coach in 2006. "To have a guy like that to talk with and throw ideas off was something special. But he wasn't just a treasure to El Paso. He was a national treasure."
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