Glory Road Summary

Glory Road Don Haskins, one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history LEARN MORE. History was made on the night of March 19, 1966 LEARN MORE. A 50th Anniversary Celebration LEARN MORE. Previous Next. UTEP; Glory Road The Road to Glory The Bear. Glory Road Trailer Coach Don Haskins starts the first African-American college basketball team and takes them all the way to the National Championships.

Running time106 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget$30 millionBox office$42.9 millionGlory Road is a 2006 American directed by James Gartner, based on a true story surrounding the events leading to the (the historic name for what is now known as the ). Portrayed by, head coach of Texas Western College (Now known as or UTEP), coached with an all- starting lineup, a first in history. Glory Road explores racism, discrimination, and student athletics. Supporting actors and also star in principal roles.The film was a co-production between the motion picture studios of, Texas Western Productions, and Glory Road Productions. It was commercially distributed by Buena Vista Pictures theatrically and by the Buena Vista Home Entertainment division for the video rental market. It premiered in theaters nationwide in the United States on January 13, 2006, grossing $42,938,449 in box office business despite generally mixed reviews from critics. Glory Road was nominated for a number of awards including the; the film won the 2006 for Best Sports Movie.On January 10, 2006, the original motion picture soundtrack was released by the music label.

The soundtrack was composed and orchestrated by musician. The DVD release, featuring theatrical trailers, extended interviews with players and colleagues of coach Haskins, and deleted scenes, among other highlights, was released in the U.S. On June 6, 2006. Contents.Plot Newly appointed men's basketball coach Don Haskins gets a new job at Texas Western College in. Lacking necessary financial resources, he makes an effort to recruit the best players regardless of race to form a team that can compete for a national championship. Some of the young men he brings in possess skill, but are raw in talent when it comes to organized teamwork focusing on defense and ball distribution.

In the end, his Texas Western Miners team comprises seven black and five white athletes; a balance that raises eyebrows among university personnel. Haskins puts his players through a rigorous training program, threatening to cut anyone who doesn't work as hard as he demands, while trying to integrate his players into a single team with a common goal.Following initial victories against mediocre local teams, Haskins quickly discovers that he has to give his black players more free room on the court.

Yet, the more victories his team achieves with its flamboyant style, up until this point rarely seen in college basketball, the more racial hatred mounts on his squad. This culminates in threats to his own family, the beating of a player while on the road and ultimately the vandalism of his team's motel rooms by racists while they are at an away game. Increasingly frightened, the team loses its last game of the regular season after the black players stop playing with passion. Thus, the Texas Western Miners finish the 1965–1966 regular season with a 23–1 record, entering the 1966 NCAA tournament ranked third in the nation.Going on to the, played at, they take on the top-ranked under legendary coach. Rupp, with a well-organized and more experienced all-white squad, firmly believes that his opponent stands no chance. On the eve of the decisive game, Haskins decides to experiment with a bold strategy, informing his team that he intends to start an all-black lineup in the game, and also only using the two other black players in the rotation.In the midst of seemingly insurmountable odds, Texas Western encounters mounting problems with and team captain Harry Flournoy leaving the game with an injury, and their center David Lattin in foul trouble.

In a close game, the Miners narrowly lead at halftime, but finally manage to beat Kentucky 72–65 with some impressive, rebounding and passing techniques in the second half. The film ends with the players exiting the plane that brought them back to El Paso to the greeting of a raucous crowd.Cast. Supporting actor Mehcad Brooks, who portrayed African-American college basketball player Harry Flournoy. as. as. as Jerry Armstrong.

as. as. as Ross Moore. Schin A.S. Kerr as. as.

as. as. as.

as Mary Haskins, wife of Don Haskins. as. as Waltina 'Tina' Malichi. as Wade Richardson. as John AndersonProduction Development Glory Road was inspired by a true story, as described by Texas Western's head coach in his autobiography of the same title, a national bestseller released in 2005. The book details Haskins' early life as a player (including a one-on-one game against a black friend that opened his eyes) and women's basketball coach.

Like the film, it then focuses on the 1966 Texas Western men's basketball team and the aftermath of the championship. It was reprinted five times in its first four months of release and was selected as an 'Editor's Choice' by the New York Times Book Review. Additionally, Glory Road is the name of a street on the UTEP campus near the which was renamed to commemorate the 1966 NCAA championship.Later asked about his decision to start five black players, Haskins downplayed the significance of his decision. 'I really didn't think about starting five black guys. I just wanted to put my five best guys on the court. I just wanted to win the game.' Though credited with advancing the of college basketball teams in the, he wrote in his book 'I certainly did not expect to be some racial pioneer or to change the world.'

Dunking was banned in the NCAA from 1967 to 1976, not the least due to the success of the Texas Western team and UCLA player Lew Alcindor (better known later as ), who was just then becoming NCAA varsity eligible.Next to the, scenes from interviews with some of the real-life players from the team are shown, including one player from the opposing team beaten by Texas Western in the NCAA finals, head coach. The real-life Don Haskins was cast as an extra in the film as a gas station attendant, and David Lattin was cast as an extra as a military bartender.The players on the 1966 team were, Jerry Armstrong, Togo Railey, Louis Baudoin, Dick Myers, and David Palacio.The team was nominated in its entirety for the, and was inducted on September 7, 2007, ten years after coach Don Haskins had already been enshrined.The movie skipped a crucial game that Texas Western had played. On March 18, 1966, the Miners defeated Utah 85-78 in the Final Four to advance to the national championship game the following night. In the movie the team played against Kansas in the regional final and the following game was the national championship, which is incorrect. Filming Several scenes in this movie were filmed at the (UTEP), which is the former Texas Western College, and in.

Other scenes were filmed at in, and Douglas High School, formerly F. Nicholls High School, in, and in. The scene was filmed in the old Airline Motors Diner on just west of New Orleans.

The school shown for the girls' basketball game in at the beginning of the film is actually the front of El Paso High School, as shown by the engraving on the top of the columns. The lunchroom basketball trash can scene was filmed at Booker T.

Washington High School, the first high school built in New Orleans for African-Americans. Towards the beginning of the film for the shot of Texas Western College, the and the Chase Bank Building in downtown El Paso can be seen in the top left corner. The Wells Fargo Plaza was not completed until 1971, and the Chase Bank Building was still the Texas Commerce Bank building until the early 1990s. In addition, (the former play-by-play announcer) had a small speaking role as a courtside broadcaster. Was the original choice for the role of coach Don Haskins, but had to drop out of the filming due to prior commitments. Point guard was offered a role in the film, but chose not to participate 'because of time constraints'.During the scene of the Texas Western- basketball game broadcast the announcers inadvertently used the call letters, which is an FM radio sports station from Tallahassee, Florida instead of the El Paso station.Controversy Kentucky Wildcat fans and other Rupp supporters said the film at least implicitly portrayed UK coach Adolph Rupp as a racist, with such lines as Bobby Joe Hill's that Rupp would not have recruited him.

Like other teams in the Southeastern Conference, Kentucky was indeed all-white, but they were the first (and for about a decade, the only) SEC team to regularly play (inter-conference) opponents with black players (starting in the 1950s) and, in fact, took the place of Alabama (1956) and Mississippi State (1959, 1961) in the NCAA Tournament after their respective state legislatures and/or university leadership refused the invitations because of the possibility of playing against integrated squads. Starting in 1964, Rupp had recruited Kentuckians and along with eight other black players who received formal scholarship offers before in 1969 became UK's first black player. But while doing so he told them (just as did to ) about the racial difficulties they could expect in playing in the SEC and Unseld and Beard went to instead.In the game between, now known as, and Texas Western, East Texas State fans are shown throwing popcorn and drinks, and yelling. In a later scene, racial slurs are shown painted onto the hotel rooms of the black Texas Western players. After verification that the events never took place, Texas A&M–Commerce asked for an apology from and the makers of the film. Disney did not directly apologize; rather, it explained that the movie was not a documentary and that it had been necessary to consolidate events given the time limitations of the film, and that Disney did not intentionally set out to misrepresent any group and was sorry for any misunderstanding. The President of Texas A&M–Commerce said that, given the way the school was shown in the film, it was hard to believe that Disney could plausibly argue that the portrayal of the school was unintentional.

The scene even prompted the Texas state senate to consider a bill which would allow financial assistance from the state to be withheld for films that portray the state negatively. Soundtrack On January 10, 2006, the soundtrack was released on the label. The film score was orchestrated by musician and features music composed by various artists.Glory Road Original Soundtrackby. Various ArtistsReleasedJanuary 10, 2006Recorded2005Length32: 43Glory Road Original Soundtrack No.TitleLength1.' People Get Ready'2:432.' Ain't That Peculiar'3:003.' Uptight (Everything's Alright)'2:544.'

Dancing in the Street'2:405.' I'm on My Way to Canaan'3:236.' Can You Do It'2:207.' Shake It Up, Baby (aka Twist And Shout)'2:308.' Down in the Boondocks'2:369.'

I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)'3:1310.' Ain't That Good News'2:4011.' I Will Make the Darkness Light'2:2512.' Glory Road'4:19Total length:32:43Release Home media Following its release in theaters, separate and editions of the motion picture were released on DVD in the United States on June 6, 2006.

A version of the film for the was also released on June 6, 2006.A restored widescreen high definition version was released on October 17, 2006. Special features include backstage feature film: Audio commentary with producer Jerry Bruckheimer & director James Gartner; Audio commentary with screenwriters Chris Cleveland and Bettina Gilois; 'Surviving Practice' – a featurette looking inside a typical grueling Haskins practice with former NBA star Tim Hardaway, and seamless menus. Reception Critical response Among mainstream critics in the U.S., the film received generally mixed to positive reviews. Reported that 56% of 152 sampled critics gave the film a positive review, with an average score of 5.9/10. The consensus states, 'As formulaic as sports movies get, this underdog story still triumphs on the strength of its inspiring story.'

At, which assigns a out of 100 to critics' reviews, Glory Road received a score of 58 based on 33 reviews.The film won the 2006 ESPY Award for Best Sports Movie. Furthermore, in 2006, Glory Road was nominated for the. In 2007, the film garnered nominations for Best Screenplay, Adapted or Original and Best Original or Adapted Song from the. Box office The film became a in the U.S. Grossing $16,927,589 on its opening weekend, yet was only released or just shown on TV in some countries that have no connection to college basketball. The film grossed a total of $42,938,449 worldwide.