A Short History of TABC

The Texas Association of Basketball Coaches was born amidst a strong desire of a small group of basketball coaches in the state to see the sport of basketball attain a semblance of recognition that it enjoyed in other states. It was during a basketball clinic sponsored by the Waco Chamber of Commerce that a group of less than 200 men assembled together and pledged their untiring support to seeing the sport achieve the ranks of credibility. Goals were lofty, but perseverance was plentiful, and so, with a burst of optimism that would excite even the most eternal pessimist, the association was conceived. The month was April; the year was 1975.

Growth was slow during those first few years and the association struggled mightily to get the recognition from the press that it so avidly desired. The Waco Chamber continued to sponsor the clinic and TABC hung onto its coattails, hoping to gain new membership as a by-product. Goals continued to be set…a longer playing season, approval of summer camps and leagues, and a genuine Top Ten list carried by the wire services. Lofty goals they were, and needless to say, they were still years away.

A small group of girls’ coaches showed interest in joining in with the previously all-male TABC group in 1979 and so it was in 1980, that the association’s board of directors voted to recruit girls coaches with vigor and add girls coaches to its board. Promising results were seen that first year and soon the membership goal of 1000 coaches seemed to be realistic. In 1981, the association voted to hire Alton Ballard, who had been the editor of the association’s newsletter since its inception, as its Executive Director, a post he held until his death in April 2002. With someone now on staff to spearhead membership drives and coordinate other efforts, the hope was great that growth would soon become as steady as the membership would have it be.

It was! Membership zoomed past the 1000 mark in 1981 and the association then went about its task of sending special liaisons to all meetings of the University Interscholastic League Athletic and Legislative Councils in Austin. Former Baylor University head men’s coach, Harry Miller, a former TABC president, was the association’s first such liaison, and under his direction, mighty things were accomplished. Working with the officers and members of the board, goal after goal was met…approval for summer camps and leagues, an earlier starting date for practices and games, more recognition from the League itself…all these things became reality. Not too long afterward, an agreement was forged with both the Lubbock Avalanche – Journal and the Associated Press to carry a weekly Top Ten Coaches Poll in January and February with TABC providing the poll and the media getting it out. TABC now sends its weekly polls directly to the Dallas office of the Associated Press, which distributes the poll statewide.

Within the credibility gained from statewide exposure through the media and its success in legislative circles, more and more coaches and other friends of basketball began to get involved with the association and support it with both membership and praise. Because of this, in 1988 TABC was able to announce that, with the signing up of 2250 members, it has surpassed the Indiana association and was the largest state basketball association in the nation!

By the year 2000 TABC membership began flirting with the 3,000 plateau while the May clinic boosted nearly 1,200 coaches and four all-star games. Add to that the summer camps, Hall of Fame weekend and numerous awards and TABC was prepared to make another surge.

But, as Mr. Ballard’s health began to fail TABC was faced with a task it had never performed; the hiring of a new executive director. When Alton passed away in April 2002, TABC had been off course and was actually passed by Michigan and Ohio in total membership. Through the clinic and the summer the organization limped along as interviews were held. In August of 2002, the TABC board of directors hired Rick Sherley as only the second executive director and the offices were moved to Houston. After a year of recovery the association burst back into the forefront of state basketball associations by increasing membership to a national high of 4,177 and a clinic record of 1, 854 in 2005-06. Additional awards for assistant and middle school coaches, student assistants and outstanding coaches by the Board of Directors had TABC on its way to new plateaus again.

In 2006-07 we reached a membership of 4,383 and had an all-time clinic attendance of 2,036. We continue to strive for a goal of 4,500 members and hope to attain that goal in the 2007-08 year.