Walter "Sam" Williams (June 29, 1924 – October 15, 2012) was an American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach. He is considered an early pioneer of racial integration in the college game and is the

University of Texas–Pan American The University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA) was a public university in Edinburg, Texas. Founded in 1927, it was a component institution of the University of Texas System. The university served the Rio Grande Valley (Texas), Rio Grande Valley a ...

's all-time leader in wins (244), including its only men's basketball national championship in 1962–63. Williams is referred to as the "Father of Broncs Basketball" at Texas Pan–American. He oversaw the school's transition from a

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA) program into an

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

program. During his 15 year tenure, he had 11 winning seasons, 4 20-win seasons, and 244 total victories. He also coached the baseball team for one season. The UTPA Fieldhouse, where the team plays their home games, had its center court rededicated to Williams on November 20, 2010. 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 Alfred H. Ogletree (February 5, 1930 – June 24, 2019) was an American baseball coach in NCAA Division I college baseball. Early life Ogletree was born in San Antonio, Texas. He attended school at Texas A&M University, graduating in 1952. Four ...

was the first). Williams died on October 15, 2012, from

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinc ...

Head coaching record

Basketball

Baseball

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Sam 1924 births 2012 deaths Basketball coaches from Texas High school basketball coaches in the United States People from Daingerfield, Texas Sportspeople from McAllen, Texas UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros baseball coaches UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men's basketball coaches