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Saluting Coach Calhoun
When UConn men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun is inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on Sept. 10 he will be one of 263 individuals and five teams to have received his sport’s highest honor. “When I was told the news, it was surreal,” he told reporters last April, when the announcement was made public.
It
was surreal because while almost anyone who starts dribbling a basketball as
a youngster may dream of one day winning championships or staying involved in
the sport beyond their playing days, very few actually have their name placed
among the greatest in their game. Of the thousands of past and present men and women
who have coached high school, college and professional teams, when this year’s
ceremonies conclude in Springfield, Mass., Calhoun will be one of only 72 coaches
honored with a place in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
In 33 seasons as a college coach and winning more games than anyone in New England, Calhoun has brought two NCAA championships and one NIT title to UConn. He ranks among the top 20 Division I coaches of all time and is sixth among still active coaches. He is also one of only two men’s coaches — Mike Krzyzewski is the other — to win more than one NCAA title since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
That is a record of consistency and excellence matched by very few others. It has been sustained by a passion for the game that is usually seen as Calhoun stomps along the UConn bench encouraging his young charges and glaring at officials with a thin smile on his face when a call goes against the Huskies.
The coach’s passion for the University of Connecticut burns just as brightly. When we spoke in 2004 after he led the Huskies to the NCAA title in San Antonio, Calhoun said, “I think anyone who is here thinks UConn is a special destination for young people.” He also noted the pride he has in the fact that both of his sons, Jim ’89 (CLAS) and Jeff ’96 (CLAS), are UConn graduates.
The UConn Alumni Association will demonstrate the University community’s
pride in Calhoun on Oct. 28 when he receives the 2005 Honorary Alumni Award as part
of the association’s faculty and alumni excellence gala.