Statue of Don Haskins coming to UTEP campus; paid for by Mattress Firm owners Dan & JoAnn Longoria
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Don Haskins is already memorialized in El Paso with an indoor stadium, a recreation center, and a street all bearing his name. Now, a statue of the legendary basketball coach will stand in front of the Don Haskins Center.
Having a case of the Mondays? This news about the 🐻 should cheer you right up ⛏️#RiseUp915 | #PicksUphttps://t.co/XI6LDb7U7h
— UTEP Men’s Basketball (@UTEPMBB) May 8, 2023
The statue, which El Paso Inc. reports was approved by UT System regents last week, will be about 1,200 pounds.
New Jersey artist Brian Hanlon will make the statue, showing Haskins in a signature pose, celebrating his team. Mattress Firm owners Dan Longoria and his wife, Joann, are paying for the statue and donating it to the university.
Haskins led the Texas Western men's basketball team to victory in 1966. He retired from coaching in 1999 and died in 2008 at the age of 78. Haskins and his 1966 team were the subject of Disney's 2006 movie Glory Road.
