FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas legend Nolan Richardson is another Hall of Fame and, no, that’s not a disimissive comment in any way. The only thing a little surprising is it took this long for him to be inducted into the National Junior College Hall of Fame.
Richardson, who guided the Razorbacks to their only national championship in a major sport in 1993-93, started his career in high school, then took West Texas Junior College while he compiled a 101-13 in three seasons. That included a 1980 championship. The 37-0 record that year is only the third in junior college history without a single loss.
Joining Richardson in the Class of 2023 are Brittany Reese (three-time track and field Olympic team member), Kirby Puckett (MLB Hall of Famer), Leonard Hamilton (current head men’s basketball coach at Florida State) and Bruce Arena (all-time winningest Major League Soccer head coach).
After West Texas, he went to Tulsa in 1981, becoming the first African American coach to win the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) title. Staying at Tulsa for five years, Richardson is credited with bringing the Tulsa program to national prominence, and with a winning percentage of .763, became the first coach in NCAA history to win 50 games in his first two seasons.
With the Hogs, Richardson led the team to 15 post-season appearances in 17 seasons. Finding great success at Arkansas, he led the Razorbacks to three Final Fours and, in 1994, the Hogs won the National Championship. Richardson’s career garnered numerous accolades including NABC Coach of the Year, Naismith College Coach of the Year, two-time MVC Coach of the Year, three-time SWC Coach of the Year, SEC Coach of the Year, and the USBWA Most Courageous Award.
Richardson is a member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame and the Basketball Hall of Fame, being inducted as part of the 2008 and 2014 classes, respectively. Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Richardson played basketball collegiately at NJCAA member Eastern Arizona Junior College for one season before transferring to Texas Western College. After Western, he retired from playing and decided to leave his mark through coaching.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
