Blair Enshrined into Naismith Hall of Fame as Part of Star-Studded 2023 Class
Aug 12, 2023 | Women's Basketball
Blair was presented by fellow Naismith Hall of Famers Teresa Weatherspoon ('19) and Van Chancellor ('07). He was inducted alongside NBA legends, some of the best basketball coaches to have coached the game and historic trailblazers and contributors.
Blair became the 18th Division I women's coach to enter the hall of fame after only two years on the ballot. For more information on the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, please visit hoophall.com.
2023 Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Class
Gene Bess (Coach)
Gary Blair (Coach)
Pau Gasol (Player)
Becky Hammon (Player)
David Hixon (Coach)
Gene Keady (Coach)
Dirk Nowitzki (Player)
Tony Parker (Player)
Gregg Popovich (Coach)
Dwyane Wade (Player)
Jim Valvano (Contributor)
1976 Women's Olympic Team
About Gary Blair
Blair holds the 13th-most wins in Division I history, having won 852 games throughout his 37 years as a collegiate head coach. The Dallas native registered 35 winning seasons and 30 20-win seasons. He is one of four coaches to have taken two-or-more schools to the final four (Arkansas, Texas A&M).
Blair is the namesake for the court at Reed Arena. He is one of only six women's basketball coaches to have ever had a Division I court named in their honor (Pat Summitt – Tennessee, Kay Yow – NC State, Doug Bruno – DePaul, Joe Foley – Little Rock, C. Vivian Stringer – Rutgers). He won 444 games, five conference titles and took the Aggies to 17 NCAA Tournaments in his 19 seasons leading the Maroon & White.
A pioneer of the game, Blair was an assistant coach for the Louisiana Tech women's basketball team from 1980-85 that won two national titles, including the inaugural NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament during the 1981-82 season.
He took the Aggies to the pinnacle of the sport in 2011 when A&M defeated Notre Dame, 76-70. Blair is one of 16 coaches in women's basketball history to have a national title on their resume. During the Aggies' NCAA championship run, Blair defeated four Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees (C. Vivian Stringer, Kim Mulkey, Tara VanDerveer, Muffet McGraw).
Blair's coaching tree spans the high school and collegiate ranks as nearly 60 former players, assistants and support staff members have gone on to success after their time with Blair, including 10 current Division I head coaches (Kim Mulkey – LSU, Vic Schaefer – Texas, Mike Neighbors – Arkansas, Johnnie Harris – Auburn, Nell Fortner – Georgia Tech, A'Quonesia Franklin – Lamar, Kelly Bond-White – Southern Illinois, Sytia Messer – UCF, Vernette Skeete – Texas Southern, Amy Wright – Long Beach State). Blair coached 16 Aggies that were selected in the WNBA Draft, and nearly 30 former players have enjoyed successful professional careers overseas.
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