COLLEGE STATION -- For the second consecutive year, Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair was named the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) Division I Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year at an awards ceremony held during the organization’s annual clinic on May 3-5 in San Antonio.
Blair, who wrapped up his fourth season at A&M, was named Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year while leading the Aggies to their first-ever Big 12 championship crown with a program-best 13-3 conference record. One of four finalists for the prestigious Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year Award, he holds the distinction of being one of only four coaches in NCAA history to take three different teams to the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies made their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance under Blair and earned a program-best No. 4 seed in the Dallas Regional.
Many milestones were made during the 2006-07 season. The Aggies compiled their first undefeated season at home in the 33-year history of the program with a 16-0 record at Reed Arena under Blair’s direction. They were ranked in both national polls a school-record 19-straight weeks and received a program-best No. 10 national ranking on Nov. 28, 2006. A&M (25-7) also posted back-to-back 20-win campaigns for the first time since the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons and went on to finish the year ranked in the final Associated Press and USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Polls.
Last year, Blair was named the National Coach of the Year by the Women’s Basketball News Service and State Coach of the Year by the TABC. While accepting the award, he thanked his coaching staff comprised of associate head coach Vic Schaefer, assistant coach Kelly Bond, assistant coach Amy Tennison, director of operations Erich Birch, video coordinator Charlee Simmons and graduate assistant coach Deanna Doles, for being an integral part of building Texas A&M women’s basketball into a nationally elite program and an annual conference championship contender.
A&M Signee Shines In All-Star Game…Texas A&M signee Sydney Colson (Houston, Texas) was the leading scorer of the White team with 19 points in the TABC All-Star Girls Basketball Game held on May 4 in San Antonio. A 5-foot-8 guard out of Westside High School, Colson is the highest-rated women’s basketball player to ever sign with A&M. She was rated the No. 29 overall prospect and No. 8 point guard in the Class of 2007 by the All-Star Girls Report. Colson chose A&M over Oklahoma and LSU.
