ORLANDO — Former University of Alabama basketball coach and current Tuscaloosa resident C.M. Newton was inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame on Wednesday.
Newton served as the Alabama basketball coach from 1968-1980. In his first season Newton’s Crimson Tide team won only four games, with only one win in the SEC, finishing dead last by five games in the conference. He built the program from then on, winning three straight SEC championships.
His best season came in 1976-1977, where he led the Crimson Tide to a 25-6 record. Alabama finished with 20-plus wins from 1972-1977.
Newton finished with a 211-123 record at Alabama, and had two NCAA Tournament appearances and played four times in the NIT.
He recruited Wendell Hudson, the first black player to play for Alabama, to UA in 1969.
With all of his accomplishments at Alabama, Newton was named to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
Overall, Newton finished his SEC coaching career with a stint at Vanderbilt, winning 340 games between the two programs.
When he was in college, Newton played for Adolph Rupp at Kentucky. He played from 1949-1951.
Newton moved back to Lexington after his coaching stint at Vanderbilt to take over as athletics director. While there, he was named the Athletics Director of the Year by NACDA in 1999. He retired the next year.
While working at Kentucky, Newton served as the president of USA Basketball from 1992-1996. There he helped form the “Dream Team” that won gold at the 1992 Olympics.
He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.
