Women's Basketball
Blair, Gary
Gary Blair
- Title:
- Head Coach
- E-Mail:
- gblair@athletics.tamu.edu
THE BLAIR FILE
COACHING HONORS
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee: 2023
- Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee: 2013
- New York Athletic Club Winged Foot Award: 2011
- Two-Time National Coach of the Year: 1995 Women’s Basketball News Service, Basketball Times; 2006 Women’s Basketball News Service
- Three-Time Naismith Coach of the Year Finalist: 2003, 2007, 2021
- Six-Time Conference Coach Of The Year: 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 Southland; 2007 Big 12
- Five-Time Texas Coach of the Year (Texas Association of Basketball Coaches): 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2018
- 10-Time Hall of Fame Inductee: 2002 Texas HS Basketball, 2008 Stephen F. Austin Athletics, 2009 Southland Conference, 2011 Texas Sports, 2013 Women’s Basketball, 2014 Arkansas Sports, 2019 Dallas ISD, 2022 Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor, 2022 Texas A&M Athletics, 2023 Naismith Memorial
COACHING RESUME
- 1973-80: Head Coach, South Oak Cliff High School
239-18 (.923) - 1980-85: Assistant Coach, Louisiana Tech
159-10 (.941) - 1985-93: Head Coach, Stephen F. Austin
210-43 (.830) - 1993-03: Head Coach, Arkansas
198-120 (.623) - 2003-: Head Coach, Texas A&M
444-185 (.706) - Collegiate Head Coaching Record:
852-348 (.710) - All-Time Coaching Record (HS/College Head/Asst.)
1,250-376 (.769)
BY THE NUMBERS
- 1 - NCAA National Championship (2011)
- 2 - NCAA Final Four Appearances (1998, 2011)
- 4 - NCAA Elite Eight Appearances (1998, 2008, 2011, 2014)
- 13 - NCAA Sweet 16 Appearances
- 13th - All-Time Rank in Division I Coaching Wins
- 27 - NCAA Tournament Appearances
- 30 - 20-Win Seasons (11th All-Time)
- 41 - NCAA Postseason Victories (11th All-Time)
- 852 - Career Victories
Blair, a three-time national finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year Award, guided Texas A&M to 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, five conference championships and won an Aggie basketball record 444 games. He was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame on Aug. 12, 2023, as the 18th NCAA DI women's basketball head coach to enter the hall.
On Feb. 24, 2022, the court at Reed Arena was named Gary Blair Court before the Aggie legend's final home game at A&M. Blair was the fourth women's basketball coaches to have a basketball court named in their honor. He ended his career with the 12th-most wins in NCAA women's basketball history (852).
Blair led the Aggies to their first national title in their first-ever trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four and closed out the 2010-11 season with a 33-5 record, the most victories in program history. The Aggies were voted as the No. 1 team in the coaches’ poll following the season, the first time Texas A&M stood atop either poll in women’s basketball.
With Blair at the helm, the Aggies made eight appearances in the Sweet Sixteen and reached the Elite Eight in 2008, 2011 and 2014. In 2020-21, the Aggies went 25-3, winning their first ever SEC regular season title, and reached the Sweet 16 for the third-consecutive NCAA Tournament.
Blair ranked third in career victories among active Division I coaches with an impressive before his retirement, totaling an 852-348 overall record. Blair is a five-time recipient of the TABC Texas Coach of the Year award and a six-time conference coach of the year.
Blair holds the distinction of having been the longest-tenured coach in program history, also owning the school records for wins (444), winning percentage (.706) and NCAA Tournament appearances (16). Blair nearly tripled the win total of Lynn Hickey (154).
He led or co-led all active SEC coaches in career wins, career SEC wins, 20+ win seasons, NCAA Tournament appearances, Women’s Final Four appearances and national titles.
Blair coached four USBWA All-Americans at Texas A&M; Danielle Adams, who was the program’s first true All-American in 2010-11, Kelsey Bone, who earned All-America recognition in 2012-13, Chennedy Carter, who was named All-America twice in her career (2019 & 2020) and N'dea Jones, who earned the honor after the 2020-21 season.
Adams was a first-team honoree by the Associated Press, the USBWA and the WBCA in addition to being selected as a finalist for prestigious awards such as the Naismith Trophy, the John R. Wooden Award and the Wade Trophy. After leaving Aggieland, Adams became a WNBA All-Star for the San Antonio Stars.
Bone was selected to the USBWA first-team and was a third-team selection by the Associated Press, after completing a 2012-13 season that saw her earn MVP of the SEC Tournament. She was the fifth overall pick by the New York Liberty in the historically-strong 2013 WNBA Draft, and earned WNBA All-Rookie honors in her first year in the league.
Carter, who was Texas A&M’s first National Freshman of the Year in 2017-18, earned second-team honors by the USBWA as a sophomore, after leading the SEC in scoring for the second consecutive year. The Mansfield, Texas, native became the first player in program history to earn All-America honors in the first three years of her career. Carter was named an AP, USBWA and WBCA All-American on eight different occasions, a program record.
The women’s basketball program won its first SEC Championship in 2013, knocking off three ranked teams to capture the league crown. The Aggies captured the regular season Big 12 Conference Championship in 2007 and continued with postseason championship titles in 2008 and 2010 before departing to the SEC. In his career, Blair has coached his teams to 18 conference championships.
Notably, Blair is one of only four all-time NCAA Division I women’s basketball coaches to lead two different teams to the NCAA Women’s Final Four (Texas A&M and Arkansas), and is one of 12 coaches to lead three different teams to the NCAA Tournament (Texas A&M, Arkansas, Stephen F. Austin).
Over the course of his 42-year collegiate coaching career, which includes stops at Stephen F. Austin (1985-93) and Arkansas (1993-03), Blair led his teams to 35 winning seasons, 30 20-win seasons, 26 NCAA Tournament appearances and 41 NCAA postseason victories. Blair has won a championship at every level of his coaching career including three state championships at Dallas South Oak Cliff High School, two national championships as an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech, a WNIT Championship at Arkansas and a national championship at Texas A&M.
Blair previously led the Lady Razorbacks to the 1998 NCAA Final Four and the SFA Ladyjacks to four NCAA Sweet 16 appearances. He followed that path of success by elevating Texas A&M into one of the nation’s elite programs where he put together a 444-185 record (.706) after 19 seasons in Aggieland, including 16 consecutive 20-win campaigns from 2005-21. Under Blair, A&M has registered an unprecedented 250-52 (.828) overall success record at Reed Arena.
Since 2008, 15 of Blair’s players have been selected in the WNBA Draft, including Chennedy Carter, who was the program’s highest-ever pick at fourth overall in the 2020 draft. Kelsey Bone is the second-highest draft pick in school history at fifth overall in the 2013 draft. Texas A&M has had two players selected in the same WNBA Draft four times; Courtney Walker and Jordan Jones in 2016, Tyra White and Sydney Carter in 2012, Sydney Colson and Danielle Adams in 2011 and Morenike Atunrase and A’Quonesia Franklin in 2008.
One of the most active and involved coaches in the Bryan-College Station community, Blair is a frequent and charismatic speaker at the local Rotary Club as well as other civic and student groups throughout the year. He also hosts the annual Gary Blair Celebrity Golf Classic that benefits Special Olympics Texas. A marketing and public relations guru, Blair has increased awareness about his program and boosted both attendance and season tickets sales at Reed Arena by over 300 percent due to his one-on-one approach.
Blair is a member of 10 Halls of Fame, including induction into the Dallas ISD Hall of Fame in 2019, the state of Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2014, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2011, the Southland Conference Hall of Honor in 2009, the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. He was also honored with the 2011 New York Athletic Club’s Winged Foot Award, which is presented annually to the winning coaches of the men’s and women’s NCAA Division I Basketball Championships.
A 1963 graduate of Dallas Bryan Adams High School, Blair was an all-city baseball player. After a tour in the U.S. Marine Corps, he earned his bachelor’s degree in health and physical education with a minor in journalism from Texas Tech in 1972. He completed his master’s degree in education in 1974 and also played a season of baseball for the Red Raiders.
Blair has two children, Paige and Matt, and four grandchildren, Logan, Lola, Landry and Reagan. Paige owns a children’s boutique in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and is married to Beau Thompson, head boys basketball coach at Farmington High School in Farmington, Ark. Matt is married to the former Alli Nielsen, and works in logistics in Fayetteville, Arkansas. In 2020, Blair married his wife, the former Kyla Gay.
Year-by-Year Head Coaching Record
| Year | School | Overall | Conf | Conf Tournament | Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985-86 | SFA | 16-12 | 7-3 (2nd) | n/a | None |
| 1986-87 | SFA | 25-6 | 9-1 (t1st) | n/a | NWIT (3rd Place) |
| 1987-88 | SFA | 29-5 | 13-1 (1st) | Champion (SLC) | NCAA 2nd Round |
| 1988-89 | SFA | 30-4 | 13-1 (1st) | Champion (SLC) | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 1989-90 | SFA | 28-3 | 14-0 (1st) | Champion (SLC) | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 1990-91 | SFA | 26-5 | 14-0 (1st) | Champion (SLC) | NCAA 2nd Round |
| 1991-92 | SFA | 28-3 | 17-1 (1st) | Champion (SLC) | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 1992-93 | SFA | 28-5 | 17-1 (1st) | Champion (SLC) | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 1993-94 | Arkansas | 15-14 | 3-8 (8th) | 1st Round (SEC) | --- |
| 1994-95 | Arkansas | 23-7 | 7-4 (t4th) | Quarterfinals (SEC) | NCAA 2nd Round |
| 1995-96 | Arkansas | 21-13 | 3-8 (10th) | 1st Round (SEC) | NWIT (4th Place) |
| 1996-97 | Arkansas | 18-10 | 5-7 (7th) | Quarterfinals (SEC) | --- |
| 1997-98 | Arkansas | 22-11 | 7-7 (t6th) | Quarterfinals (SEC) | NCAA Final Four |
| 1998-99 | Arkansas | 20-14 | 5-9 (11th) | 1st Round (SEC) | WNIT Champion |
| 1999-00 | Arkansas | 17-15 | 4-10 (10th) | 1st Round (SEC) | WNIT Semifinals |
| 2000-01 | Arkansas | 20-13 | 6-8 (t6th) | Semifinals (SEC) | NCAA 2nd Round |
| 2001-02 | Arkansas | 20-12 | 7-7 (7th) | Semifinals (SEC) | NCAA 2nd Round |
| 2002-03 | Arkansas | 22-11 | 7-7 (7th) | Quarterfinals (SEC) | NCAA 2nd Round |
| 2003-04 | Texas A&M | 9-19 | 2-14 (t11th) | 1st Round (Big 12) | --- |
| 2004-05 | Texas A&M | 16-15 | 4-12 (t9th) | 1st Round (Big 12) | WNIT Quarterfinals |
| 2005-06 | Texas A&M | 23-9 | 11-5 (t3rd) | Semifinals (Big 12) | NCAA 1st Round |
| 2006-07 | Texas A&M | 25-7 | 13-3 (t1st) | Semifinals (Big 12) | NCAA 2nd Round |
| 2007-08 | Texas A&M | 29-8 | 11-5 (t3rd) | Champion (Big 12) | NCAA Elite 8 |
| 2008-09 | Texas A&M | 27-8 | 11-5 (t3rd) | Finals (Big 12) | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2009-10 | Texas A&M | 26-8 | 10-6 (t4th) | Champion (Big 12) | NCAA 2nd Round |
| 2010-11 | Texas A&M | 33-5 | 13-3 (2nd) | Finals (Big 12) | NCAA Champions |
| 2011-12 | Texas A&M | 24-11 | 11-7 (t2nd) | Finals (Big 12) | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2012-13 | Texas A&M | 25-10 | 11-5 (t4th) | Champion (SEC) | NCAA 2nd Round |
| 2013-14 | Texas A&M | 27-9 | 13-3 (t2nd) | Semifinals (SEC) | NCAA Elite 8 |
| 2014-15 | Texas A&M | 23-10 | 10-6 (t4th) | Quarterfinals (SEC) | NCAA 1st Round |
| 2015-16 | Texas A&M | 22-10 | 11-5 (t2nd) | Quarterfinals (SEC) | NCAA 2nd Round |
| 2016-17 | Texas A&M | 22-12 | 9-7 (6th) | Semifinals (SEC) | NCAA 2nd Round |
| 2017-18 | Texas A&M | 26-10 | 11-5 (t4th) | Semifinals (SEC) | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2018-19 | Texas A&M | 26-8 | 12-4 (3rd) | Semifinals (SEC) | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2019-20 | Texas A&M | 22-8 | 10-6 (t3rd) | Quarterfinals (SEC) | canceled |
| 2020-21 | Texas A&M | 25-3 | 13-1 (1st) | Semifinals (SEC) | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2021-22 | Texas A&M | 14-15 | 4-12 (12th) | 1st Round (SEC) | --- |
| 37 seasons | 852-348 |
*Last updated 8/3/23
Tennessee Postgame: Sahara Jones, Lauren Ware, Joni Taylor
Wednesday, March 05
Arkansas Postgame: Joni Taylor
Sunday, March 02
Arkansas Postgame: Sahara Jones
Sunday, March 02
Highlights: Texas A&M vs Arkansas
Sunday, March 02
