2008 Woodie Awards
Richardson elected to Hall of Fame
UA Sports Information
Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: Sports
It was announced over the weekend that Nolan Richardson, the all-time victories leader in Arkansas basketball history, has been elected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
The 2008 class will be honored Nov. 23 in Kansas City.
Richardson was the head coach at Arkansas from 1986-2002 and at Tulsa from 1981-85.
In his 22 years as an NCAA head coach, his record was 508-206 for a winning percentage of .711. In 17 years at Arkansas, he was 389-169 (.697).
The only coach to win a national junior college title, a post-season NIT championship and the NCAA title, Richardson's teams went to the Final Four three times, earned NCAA Tournament bids 17 times and recorded 20 or more victories 16 times.
On the way to reaching the 500-win mark, which he did on Dec. 10, 2001, with the 89-74 win over North Carolina-Greensboro in Fayetteville, Richardson made Arkansas a regular in post-season play with 15 consecutive national tournament appearances. Thirteen of those appearances were in the NCAA Tournament while the other two were in the National Invitation Tournament.
Richardson coached Arkansas to three Final Fours, the 1994 national championship, the 1995 runner-up spot, six trips to the Sweet 16 and four trips to the Elite Eight. Under Richardson, UA was 26-12 (.684) in NCAA Tournament play.
In 2001, he became just the 17th coach in SEC history to record 100 regular-season conference victories. In 11 years in the SEC, Richardson was 108-66 (.621).
Richardson had a successful track record in athletics long before he moved to Arkansas.
Following a standout prep career at Bowie High School in El Paso, Texas, he began his collegiate athletic career at Eastern Arizona Junior College, where he earned all-conference honors as a freshman. He transferred to Texas-El Paso and led the Miners in scoring with 21 points per game, but once Hall-of-Famer Don Haskins became head coach, his scoring dropped and his defense picked up. Although his shots were limited under Haskins, he still started all three years at UTEP.
The 2008 class will be honored Nov. 23 in Kansas City.
Richardson was the head coach at Arkansas from 1986-2002 and at Tulsa from 1981-85.
In his 22 years as an NCAA head coach, his record was 508-206 for a winning percentage of .711. In 17 years at Arkansas, he was 389-169 (.697).
The only coach to win a national junior college title, a post-season NIT championship and the NCAA title, Richardson's teams went to the Final Four three times, earned NCAA Tournament bids 17 times and recorded 20 or more victories 16 times.
On the way to reaching the 500-win mark, which he did on Dec. 10, 2001, with the 89-74 win over North Carolina-Greensboro in Fayetteville, Richardson made Arkansas a regular in post-season play with 15 consecutive national tournament appearances. Thirteen of those appearances were in the NCAA Tournament while the other two were in the National Invitation Tournament.
Richardson coached Arkansas to three Final Fours, the 1994 national championship, the 1995 runner-up spot, six trips to the Sweet 16 and four trips to the Elite Eight. Under Richardson, UA was 26-12 (.684) in NCAA Tournament play.
In 2001, he became just the 17th coach in SEC history to record 100 regular-season conference victories. In 11 years in the SEC, Richardson was 108-66 (.621).
Richardson had a successful track record in athletics long before he moved to Arkansas.
Following a standout prep career at Bowie High School in El Paso, Texas, he began his collegiate athletic career at Eastern Arizona Junior College, where he earned all-conference honors as a freshman. He transferred to Texas-El Paso and led the Miners in scoring with 21 points per game, but once Hall-of-Famer Don Haskins became head coach, his scoring dropped and his defense picked up. Although his shots were limited under Haskins, he still started all three years at UTEP.
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