EL PASO, Texas -- Willie Worsley says he doesn't talk to his high school players in New York about being on the 1966 Texas Western team that had the first all-black starting lineup in an NCAA championship game and beat all-white Kentucky for the title.
Yet he still got a text Saturday from one of them who saw him on TV celebrating the 50th anniversary of a 72-65 victory that is largely credited with ending segregation in athletics at universities across the South.
The historic moment was marked by numerous video tributes, including one from President Barack Obama, and culminated in the school now known as UTEP beating Conference USA opponent Western Kentucky 93-89 in overtime in a rare sellout.