Glory Road (film)

Last updated

Glory Road
Glory road.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJames Gartner
Written by
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer
Starring
Cinematography
Edited by
Music by Trevor Rabin
Production
companies
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release date
  • January 13, 2006 (2006-01-13)
Running time
118 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million [2]
Box office$42.9 million [1]

Glory Road is a 2006 American sports drama film directed by James Gartner, based on a true story surrounding the events leading to the 1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship. Don Haskins portrayed by Josh Lucas, head coach of Texas Western College (now known as University of Texas at El Paso or UTEP), coached a team with an all-black starting lineup, a first in NCAA history. Glory Road explores racism, discrimination and student athletics. Supporting actors Derek Luke and Jon Voight also star in principal roles.

Contents

The film was a co-production between the motion picture studios of Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, 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 Humanitas Prize; the film won the 2006 ESPY Award for Best Sports Movie.

On January 10, 2006, the original motion picture soundtrack was released by the Hollywood Records music label. The soundtrack was composed and orchestrated by musician Trevor Rabin. 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.

Plot

Don Haskins is the newly wed men's basketball coach at Texas Western College in El Paso, Texas. 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.

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 1966 regular season with a 23–1 record, entering the 1966 NCAA tournament ranked second in the nation.

Going on to the NCAA final, played at College Park, Maryland, they take on the top-ranked University of Kentucky under legendary coach Adolph Rupp. Rupp, with a well-organized and more experienced all-white Wildcats 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 forward 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 steals, 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. Due to the victory of the Miners, coach Rupp realizes he was wrong about the black players and changes his policy to allow black players to join the Kentucky team later on.

Cast

Josh Lucas Josh Lucas.jpg
Josh Lucas

Production

Development

Glory Road was inspired by a true story, as described by Texas Western's head coach Don Haskins in his autobiography of the same title, a national bestseller released in 2005 by Hyperion Books. 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 Sun Bowl 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." [3] Though credited with advancing the desegregation of college basketball teams in the South, he wrote in his book "I certainly did not expect to be some racial pioneer or to change the world." [4]

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 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), who was just then becoming NCAA varsity eligible.

Next to the closing credits, scenes from interviews with some of the real-life players from the team are shown, including one player from the opposing University of Kentucky team beaten by Texas Western in the NCAA finals, NBA head coach Pat Riley. 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 David Lattin, Bobby Joe Hill, Willie Cager, Willie Worsley, Jerry Armstrong, Orsten Artis, Nevil Shed, Harry Flournoy, Togo Railey, Louis Baudoin, Dick Myers, and David Palacio. The team was nominated in its entirety for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, 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. [5] In addition, it depicts the sequence of Hill stealing possessions from Kentucky twice in a row as if Kentucky was leading by four, rather than the real result of it leading to the Miners leading 16-11 (incidentally, Texas Western never trailed for the rest of the game). [6]

Filming

Several scenes in this movie were filmed at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), which is the former Texas Western College, and El Paso High School in El Paso, Texas. Other scenes were filmed at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana, Jesuit High School and Douglas High School, formerly F. T. Nicholls High School, in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Chalmette High School in Chalmette, Louisiana. The IHOP scene was filmed in the old Airline Motors Diner on Airline Highway just west of New Orleans. The school shown for the girls' basketball game in Fort Worth, Texas 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 Wells Fargo Plaza 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, Ralph Strangis (the former Dallas Stars play-by-play announcer) had a small speaking role as a courtside broadcaster. Ben Affleck was the original choice for the role of coach Don Haskins, but had to drop out of the filming due to prior commitments. NBA point guard Kirk Hinrich was offered a role in the film, but chose not to participate "because of time constraints". [7]

During the scene of the Texas Western-Seattle University basketball game broadcast the announcers inadvertently used the call letters WTSM, which is an FM radio sports station from Tallahassee, Florida instead of the El Paso station KTSM.

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 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 took the place of Alabama (1956) and Mississippi State (1959, 1961) in the NCAA Tournament after their respective state legislatures or university leadership refused the invitations because of the possibility of playing against integrated squads. [8] Starting in 1964, Rupp had recruited Kentuckians Wes Unseld and Butch Beard, along with eight other black players who received formal scholarship offers before Tom Payne in 1969 became University of Kentucky first black player. [8] While doing so, he told them (just as Branch Rickey did to Jackie Robinson) about the racial difficulties they could expect in playing in the SEC, and Unseld and Beard went to Louisville instead.

In the game between East Texas State University, now known as Texas A&M University–Commerce, and Texas Western, East Texas State fans are shown throwing popcorn and drinks, and yelling racial epithets. 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 Disney and the makers of the film. [9] 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. [10] 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. [10] 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. [11]

Soundtrack

On January 10, 2006, the soundtrack was released on the Hollywood Records label. The film score was orchestrated by musician Trevor Rabin and features music composed by various artists.

Glory Road Original Soundtrack
Film score by
Various Artists
ReleasedJanuary 10, 2006
Recorded2005
Length32:43
Label Hollywood
Glory Road Original Soundtrack
No.TitleLength
1."People Get Ready"2:43
2."Ain't That Peculiar"3:00
3."Uptight (Everything's Alright)"2:54
4."Dancing in the Street"2:40
5."I'm on My Way to Canaan"3:23
6."Can You Do It"2:20
7."Shake It Up, Baby (aka Twist And Shout)"2:30
8."Down in the Boondocks"2:36
9."I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)"3:13
10."Ain't That Good News"2:40
11."I Will Make the Darkness Light"2:25
12."Glory Road"4:19
Total length:32:43

Release

Home media

Following its release in theaters, separate widescreen and fullscreen editions of the motion picture were released on DVD in the United States on June 6, 2006. [12] A UMD version of the film for the PlayStation Portable was also released on June 6, 2006.

A restored widescreen high definition Blu-ray 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. [13]

Reception

Critical response

Among mainstream critics in the U.S., the film received mixed reviews. As of June 2020, the film holds a 55% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 152 reviews, with an average score of 5.92/10. The consensus states, "As formulaic as sports movies get, this underdog story still triumphs on the strength of its inspiring story." [14] At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average out of 100 to critics' reviews, Glory Road received a score of 58 based on 33 reviews. [15]

The film won the 2006 ESPY Award for Best Sports Movie. [16] Furthermore, in 2006, Glory Road was nominated for the Humanitas Prize. [17] In 2007, the film garnered nominations for Best Screenplay, Adapted or Original and Best Original or Adapted Song from the Black Reel Awards. [18]

Box office

The film became a box office number-one in the U.S. grossing $16,927,589 on its opening weekend, yet was only released straight to DVD 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. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Texas at El Paso</span> Public university in El Paso, Texas, U.S.

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American student population after the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Haskins</span> American basketball player and coach (1930–2008)

Donald Lee Haskins, nicknamed "The Bear", was an American basketball player and coach. He played college basketball for three years under coach Henry Iba at Oklahoma A&M. He was the head coach at the University of Texas at El Paso from 1961 to 1999. In 1966 his team won the NCAA tournament over the Wildcats of the University of Kentucky, coached by Adolph Rupp. The watershed game highlighted the end of racial segregation in college basketball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Haskins Center</span> Arena in Texas, United States

The Don Haskins Center, formerly known as the Special Events Center, is the home of UTEP Miners men's and women's basketball. The venue is located in the heart of El Paso, Texas. In addition to hosting sporting events, the Don Haskins Center is also used by many area schools, such as El Paso Community College, for graduation and commencement ceremonies. Due to its large seating capacity, the center is also the city's premier entertainment venue and has hosted big-name acts such as pop star Shakira's Tour of the Mongoose, Oral Fixation Tour and The Sun Comes Out World Tour, Britney Spears during her Circus Tour, comedian George Lopez and rock band KISS.

The 1966 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 22 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national men's basketball champion of the NCAA University Division, now Division I. It began on March 7 and ended with the championship game on March 19 in College Park, Maryland. A total of 26 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Flournoy</span> American basketball player (1943–2016)

Harry Flournoy Jr. was an American college basketball player, originally from Gary, Indiana.

Memorial Gym is a 5,200-seat multi-purpose arena in El Paso, Texas. It opened in December 1961, replacing Holliday Hall, and was home to the Texas Western College Miners basketball teams, until the Don Haskins Center, then known as the Special Events Center, opened in 1977, by which time Texas Western had changed its name to the current University of Texas at El Paso. Memorial Gym was the home court of the 1966 Texas Western basketball team that won the NCAA title, using five black starters to defeat Adolph Rupp's all-white Kentucky squad. Since 1974 Memorial Gym has been home to UTEP women's volleyball. Memorial Gym hosted the first and second rounds of the 2011 Conference USA Women's basketball tournament.

Velvet James Barnes, also known as Jim "Bad News" Barnes, was an American basketball player, who was an Olympic Gold Medalist and the No. 1 overall pick of the 1964 NBA draft. He played college basketball at Texas Western College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Joe Hill</span> American basketball player (1943–2002)

Tyrone Bobby Joe Hill was an American basketball player and was the leading scorer of the 1965–66 Texas Western College team, helping the Miners win the 1966 NCAA basketball championship. The victory is considered one of the most important wins in sports history – Texas Western started an all-black starting lineup, against the all-white University of Kentucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Lattin</span> American basketball player

David Lattin is an American former basketball player. He was the starting center for the Texas Western Miners in their NCAA championship year in 1966. During his playing career, he was listed at 6 feet 6 inches tall and 225 lbs. His nickname during his career was "Big Daddy D".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nevil Shed</span> American basketball player and coach

Nevil Shed is an American former basketball player. He attended Morris High school in 1962. He was a member of the Texas Western Miners team that won the 1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament national championship. The team was coached by Don Haskins. The Miners made history for being the first team to start an all-African American lineup in the championship game. His basketball nickname was "The Shadow". Glory Road, a 2006 Disney film, chronicles the team's journey; Shed is played by Al Shearer. After playing at Texas Western, Shed was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the fourth round of the 1967 NBA draft. His career ended when he tore up his leg while attempting a lay-up at a game in training camp. Because of that, he never played in the NBA or in other leagues. He later became an assistant coach for Haskins at Texas Western. He now works as the director of summer training camp for the San Antonio Spurs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UTEP Miners</span> Athletic program of the University of Texas at El Paso

The UTEP Miners is the name given to the sports teams of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). They are informally referred to as the Miners, UTEP, or Texas–El Paso. UTEP was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1967 to 2005, when they joined Rice, Tulsa, and SMU in leaving the WAC for Conference USA. The UTEP Miners are best known as the first team in Texas to win an NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. UTEP's colors are orange and blue and the mascot is a miner named Paydirt Pete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willie Cager</span> American basketball player (1942–2023)

William Cager Jr. was an American college basketball player for the Texas Western Miners. He was a member of their 1966 team that won the 1966 NCAA Basketball Championship. He was coached by the Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins. Texas Western started an all-black starting lineup, against the all-white University of Kentucky. In Texas Western's championship game victory, Cager had eight points and six rebounds. The school's website describes him as "A skilled low post player" during his career. Raised in New York City, Cager was nicknamed "Scoops". He suffered from a heart murmur during the 1965–66 season; when he recovered enough to play, Texas Western was forced to use him sparingly, in four-minute shifts. After playing at Texas Western, Cager was drafted by the Baltimore Bullets in the 12th round of the 1968 NBA draft. However, partly due to his health, he never played as a professional.

Henry W. "Moe" Iba is an American former basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Memphis State University, now known as the University of Memphis, from 1966 to 1970, Nebraska from 1980 to 1986, and Texas Christian University (TCU) from 1987 to 1994, compiling a career college basketball coach record of 239–244. Iba graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1962. He played basketball there under his father, Henry Iba, the Hall of Fame coach who developed the motion offense.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UTEP Miners men's basketball</span> Mens basketball team of the University of Texas at El Paso

The UTEP Miners basketball team plays for University of Texas at El Paso in El Paso, Texas. The team is an NCAA Division I men's college basketball team competing in the Conference USA. Home games are played at Don Haskins Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1965–66 Texas Western Miners men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 1965–66 Texas Western Miners basketball team represented Texas Western College, now the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), led by Hall of Fame head coach Don Haskins. The team won the national championship in 1966, becoming the first team with an all-black starting lineup to do so. The Miners only lost one game, a road loss to Seattle by two points. They won their games by an average of 15.2 points.

Orsten Artis was an American basketball player. He started at guard for the 1965–66 Texas Western Miners basketball team, the first team in history to win an NCAA championship with five African-American players in the starting lineup.

The 1966 NCAA University Division basketball championship game was the final of the 1966 NCAA University Division basketball tournament and determined the national champion in the 1965–66 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The game was held on March 19, 1966, at Cole Field House in College Park, Maryland. The Kentucky Wildcats, the number one ranked team in men's college basketball, faced the Texas Western Miners, who were ranked third in the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020–21 UTEP Miners men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2020–21 UTEP Miners men's basketball team represented the University of Texas at El Paso during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by third-year head coach Rodney Terry, and played their home games at Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas as members of Conference USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023–24 UTEP Miners men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2023–24 UTEP Miners men's basketball team represented the University of Texas at El Paso during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team, led by third-year head coach Joe Golding, played their home games at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas as a member of Conference USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024–25 UTEP Miners men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2024–25 UTEP Miners men's basketball team represented the University of Texas at El Paso during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team, led by fourth-year head coach Joe Golding, played their home games at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas as a member of Conference USA.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 "Glory Road (2006)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved February 10, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Glory Road (2006) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
  3. ↑ Limón, Iliana. "Ex-Miners coach Don Haskins wasn't playing the hero during a racially charged 1966 championship, but Hollywood doesn't seem to mind." Archived April 3, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Albuquerque Tribune. January 11, 2006.
  4. ↑ Haskins, Don with Dan Wetzel. Glory Road. New York:Hyperion, 2006. ISBN   1-4013-0791-4.
  5. ↑ "1966 NCAA Tournament Summary". Sports-Reference.com.
  6. ↑ "ESPN Classic - Texas Western's 1966 title left lasting legacy". Espn.com. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  7. ↑ Sam Smith. "Skiles lauds Chandler's play; Coach calls game 7-footer's best yet". Chicago Tribune. November 21, 2005. Sports, p. 5
  8. 1 2 "Adolph Rupp: Fact and Fiction". www.bigbluehistory.net.
  9. ↑ Texas A&M-Commerce Wants Apology For Glory Road Movie Portrayal. CSTV.com, Published February 10, 2006. Accessed 2007-05-15.
  10. 1 2 Underdue Murph heads enrollment/marketing Archived July 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine . Texas A&M University Commerce. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  11. ↑ Fikac, Peggy. "Senators want film funds to hinge on portrayal of state." Houston Chronicle . Published May 15, 2007. Accessed 2007-05-15.
  12. ↑ "Glory Road (2006) - DVD Widescreen". Barnes & Noble . Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Glory Road Blu-Ray". Barnes & Noble . Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Glory Road". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Glory Road (2006)". Metacritic . Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  16. ↑ 2006 ESPY Awards Winners. Variety. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  17. ↑ Past Winners Archived April 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine . HumanitasPrize.Org. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  18. ↑ Winners. Black Reel Awards. Retrieved February 11, 2013.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.