History

The rocky road back to Tulsa: Nolan Richardson returns, Part 2

Part 1

Post-Arkansas

For years after leaving Arkansas, Richardson did not interview for a coaching job at any other school, another indicator, according to him of the double standard black coaches endure in college sports. While controversial figures like Bob Knight and other fired coaches received second chances, Richardson said that because he challenged Arkansas, he was overlooked.

"No one’s ever given me that opportunity," Richardson told ESPN in 2007. "No. I wrote this one time, I think I’m the only head coach in America, with my credentials, that when jobs are open, has never [been] interviewed."

In the meantime, he held coaching clinics, gave speeches and hosted the annual Nolan Richardson Charity Golf Tournament in memory of his daughter.

He took his coaching skills to the international level. He served as the head coach of the Panamanian National Team from 2005 to 2007. And in March 2007, Mexico…

Teresa Edwards named to 2009 U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Class

The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) named five-time Olympian and four-time gold medalist Teresa Edwards as a member of the  2009 class to be inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame presented by Allstate.

Teresa’s statement on being inducted:

For me, it’s the highest of highs because I’ve always looked at the Olympics as being the best that you could possibly get for women’s basketball. For me, it’s the most important honor ever. To be in the company of Muhammad Ali and Wilma Rudolph, that’s huge. It’s kind of like, pinch me, because I still can’t believe it.

There’s too many memories from the Olympics to pick just one. I think the greatest has always been my first. You can never top the first time. Even though I did return, you can never top that feeling of everything being so wonderful and being the first time. I think

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Jennifer Gillom on having the Ole Miss Sports Center named after her and sister Peggie

The Gillom Sports Center at Ole Miss is named after basketball legends and sisters Jennifer and Peggie Gillom.

"It’s hard to comprehend; it’s so amazing. Race always becomes an issue, especially at Ole Miss because of the past. To have two black women (so honored), it makes it more humbling for Peggie and myself. It makes you feel like you’ve done something right in your life."

Jennifer Gillom to the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Gillom will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Saturday, June 13, 2009 in Knoxville, Tenn.

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A Cautionary Tale: Sheryl, Malcolm and Michael, or Keep Track of Your Valuables

Swoopes during her visit to the White House with the Houston Comets, 2001.

It has happened to some of the most famous people in modern history, including Malcolm X and Michael Jackson. I remember the shock and heartfelt panic in my chest when news broke in the spring of 2002 that the contents of a random storage locker being auctioned off for unpaid rent contained a large cache of speeches, journals, and notes by Malcolm X.

My alarm stemmed from worrying that those precious artifacts of African American history might be lost without the care and cataloguing that could be provided by a museum or university archive.

Two years later, a similar incident happened when a priceless trove of Michael Jackson memorabilia was sold including items from the making of the groundbreaking Thriller album to home movies of…