Nolan Richardson

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[Nolan Richardson (b. December 27, 1941 in El Paso, Texas, United States) was a college basketball coach at the University of Tulsa and the University of Arkansas. He won the NCAA title with the University of Arkansas in 1994 and was runner-up the following year.

Richardson played college ball at Texas Western College, now the University of Texas at El Paso, playing his senior year under the school's new coach, future Basketball Hall of Famer Don Haskins.

Richardson began his coaching career at Bowie High School in El Paso, Texas. He then moved to Western Texas Junior College, where he won the national junior college championship in 1980. He was the head coach at Tulsa from 1981 to 1985, leading Tulsa to the NIT championship in 1981. In 1985 Richardson became the head coach at the University of Arkansas, where he gained national recognition.

Richardson went to the Final Four three times at Arkansas, losing to Duke in the semifinals in 1990, winning the tournament in 1994, and losing to UCLA in the finals in 1995. He was named the national coach of the year in 1994. His teams typically played an uptempo game with intense pressure defense - a style Richardson called "40 Minutes of Hell." He is the winningest coach in Arkansas history, compiling a 389-169 record in 17 seasons. (Note: Mike Anderson was 1-1 as interim Head Coach in 2002 while Richardson was suspended by the Arkansas Athletic Department). He is the only head coach to win a junior college championship, the NIT, and the NCAA tournament.

In February 2002, Richardson spoke out against the administration at the University of Arkansas and its fans. He claimed that he was being mistreated because he was black, and challenged athletic director Frank Broyles to buy out the remainder of his contract. Shortly thereafter, Arkansas dismissed Richardson as head coach. In December 2002, Richardson filed a lawsuit against the University, the Board of Trustees, and the Razorback Foundation, claiming racial discrimination. The lawsuit was dismissed in July 2004.

Richardson was raised in El Paso's "Segundo Barrio" or "Second Ward."

Richardson is the new coach of the Panama National Team and started his work on August 8th 2005. Panama will play in Juegos Deportivos Bolivarianos and Premundial de las Américas in Colombia and Dominican Republic, respectively.

Preceded by Eddie Sutton	University of Arkansas Head Basketball Coaches 1985–2002	Succeeded by Stan Heath
Preceded by Bill Franey	University of Tulsa Head Basketball Coaches 1980–1985	Succeeded by J.D. Barnett