May 17, 2006
Lamar University athletic director and former basketball coach Billy Tubbs will be one of the 2006 class of inductees into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. Tubbs, who was head basketball coach at the University of Oklahoma for 14 years, will join OU football great Keith Jackson, golfer Bob Dickson and auto racing pioneer Jack Zink for induction ceremonies August 21, in Oklahoma City.
"Tubbs' up tempo `Billy Ball' style of play is credited for pulling OU basketball out of obscurity and changing the face of Big Eight basketball," said Lynne Draper, president of the Jim Thorpe Association, which manages the Hall of Fame. The new inductees will bring the membership in the Hall of Fame to a total of 107 of Oklahoma's greatest sports personalities. "Oklahoma's sports heritage is second to none," Draper said. "Over half of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame members are also members of national halls of fame."
Tubbs was born March 5, 1935, in St Louis, MO., and grew up in Tulsa. He lettered three years in basketball at Tulsa Central High School and then led Lon Morris College, Jacksonville, TX., to the National Junior College semifinals before finishing his college career at Lamar University in Beaumont, TX. He became a head coach in 1971 at Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX., and in 1976, returned to Lamar. In four seasons (1976-79) the Cardinals were 75-46, winning three conference championships and the school's first two NCAA Tournament appearances. Tubbs garnered the Southland Conference Coach of the Year honors in 1978 and 1980.
His next stop was the University of Oklahoma, posting a 333-132 record in 14 years and leading the Sooners to the national championship game in 1988. He took OU to nine NCAA and four NIT tournaments, including a streak of six straight "Sweet 16" appearances from 1985-90. His OU teams had 13 winning seasons and won five conference championships. Tubbs was the Big Eight Coach of the year in 1984, 1985, 1988 and 1989, and was named Basketball Weekly National Coach of the Year in 1983 and 1985.
Texas Christian University was Tubbs' home for the eight years from 1994-2002, compiling a record of 156-95 and taking the school to its first NCAA appearance in eleven years and two NIT tournaments. He was Coach of the Year in the Southwest Conference in 1995 and in the Western Athletic Conference in 1998. In 2002, he again returned to Lamar, this time as athletic director. He began double duty as athletic director and basketball coach in March, 2003 and again turned a losing program around with winning seasons in 2005 and 2006. In March, at the age of 71, Tubbs resigned as basketball coach to concentrate on his job as athletic director.
In 31 years as a head coach, Billy Tubbs compiled a 641-340 (.653) career record with his wins ranking him 34th all-time in NCAA history. He guided 12 teams to NCAA Tournaments, six NIT appearances, eight conference championships, three conference tournament championships and 18 seasons with 20 or more wins.
He is an avid jogger and supports many charitable causes. He and his wife, Pat, have two children: Tommy, who played point guard for his dad at OU, and Taylor, a former cheerleader at OU.
