Nolan Richardson Inducted into NJCAA Hall of Fame

TULSA, Okla. –– The coach who brought national prominence to The University of Tulsa basketball program in the 1980s received yet another honor Thursday night when Nolan Richardson was inducted into the third annual National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) Foundation Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C.

Designed to tell the story of the NJCAA, the NJCAA seeks to honor individuals who have paved the way for opportunities at the two-year level – athletically and professionally, and those who have been pioneers throughout the history of the association. Inductees to the Hall of fame include administrators, coaches, student-athletes ad meritorious contributors and influencers.

Richardson played college basketball at NJCAA member Eastern Arizona Junior College for one season before transferring to Texas Western College. He began his coaching career in 1968 at Bowie High School in El Paso, Texas, coaching there until taking the coaching position at Western Texas Junior College in 1977.

At Western Texas, Richardson posted a 101-13 record in three seasons and led his 1980 team to the NJCAA Men's Basketball Championship with a 37-0 record. Western Texas became just the third team to finish the season with an undefeated record in the history of NJCAA basketball.

From there, Richardson became the head coach at Tulsa on March 10, 1980, and instantly turned the Golden Hurricane into an elite program. Tulsans knew they had a special coach and team when, in just the third game, the Hurricane handed the defending national champion and eighth-ranked Louisville Cardinals a 68-60 defeat at the Tulsa Convention Center Arena.

Richardson led Tulsa to an 8-1 record through the non-conference slate that first year, adding wins over Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts and Purdue. A second-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference landed the Hurricane in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) field. Tulsa marched to the NIT Championship game with wins over Pan American, UTEP, South Alabama and West Virginia before capturing the title with an 86-84 overtime victory over the Syracuse Orangemen in New York's Madison Square Garden.

Richardson became the first African American coach to win the NIT championship in leading the Hurricane to just the second 20-win season in school history with a 26-7 record. He would become the first coach in NCAA history to win 50 games in his first two seasons after posting a 24-6 record in his second year with the Hurricane.

In five seasons at Tulsa, Richardson posted a 119-37 record for a .763 winning percentage, leading Tulsa to three NCAA Tournaments and another NIT. He led Tulsa to two MVC titles in his final two years, including the 1983-84season in which the Hurricane posted a school-best, at the time, 27-4 record. Tulsa followed that year with a 23-8 mark and league title in 1984-85.

Richardson moved onto the University of Arkansas, where he led the Razorbacks to 15 postseason appearances in 17 seasons. His teams went to three Final fours and, in 1994, won the National Championship.

Joining Richardson in the NJCAA Hall of Fame Class of 2023 were Brittany Reese (3-time track & field Olympic team member), Kirby Puckett (MLB Hall of Famer), Leonard Hamilton (men's basketball coach at Florida State) and Bruce Arena (all-time winningest Major League Soccer head coach).

Richardson is also a member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame, the Basketball Hall of Fame, Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor and The University of Tulsa Athletic Hall of Fame.

Nolan Richardson Inducted into NJCAA Hall of Fame

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