The University of Texas-Pan American Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is saddened to announce that UTPA Hall of Famer and men’s basketball head coach emeritus Sam Williams, who coached the Broncs to the 1963 NAIA National Championship, passed away on Monday at the age of 88 due to natural causes.

An inaugural member of the UTPA Hall of Fame in 2007, Williams was also inducted in the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame. Known as the “Father of Broncs Basketball,” Williams served the University as an educator for more than three decades, and coached the Broncs to 11 winning seasons, including four of at least 20 wins, in 15 years (1959-73). He remains UTPA’s all-time winningest coach with 244 victories.

After winning the 1963 NAIA National Championship, Williams coached the Broncs right back to the title game in what was their third-straight post-season appearance. He then earned the 1964 NAIA National Coach of the Year award.

Williams oversaw the Broncs’ transition into an NCAA Division I program. In their first season after the move, the Broncs won 21 games and reached the 1968 NCAA Division II Southwest Regional, where they won their first round game. Shortly after the transition, Williams became a member of the NCAA Basketball Officials Committee.

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