Texas Western College (TWC) broke a huge barrier by beating an all-white Kentucky team, 72-65, in 1966, and changing the racial state of the NCAA. TWC broke this gigantic racial barrier by starting all black players and winning the title by playing these black athletes. David Lattin, TWC's center, stated that Haskins said before the game that all the African-Americans were going to play the game. After the title, more non-white players had a better chance at going to a more skilled college. As Lattin stated in our interview, "It definitely changed the face of recruiting, especially here in the South where we African-Americans live. After we won that game, the youngsters were recruited to more major universities. It wasn't just football, basketball, and baseball, it was all sports. We opened the door for all youngsters who play a sport." Today, over half the NCAA is African-American or another race.
This video of the starting lineups from the 1966 Championship game provides proof that Texas Western did indeed break a barrier by starting
five black athletes compared to the five white athletes of Kentucky.
