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In the movie, Utah was nothing more than a name on the banner of semifinalists.
In the New York newspapers, BYU was an afterthought in comparison to the hometown team.
Fifty years later, the appearances of Utah and BYU on big stages make those basketball teams historically significant. Their seasons ended March 19, 1966, in a convergence The Salt Lake Tribune captured in one headline: "Duke Nips [Utah]; BYU Wins NIT Title."
The order of those developments probably should have been reversed, considering Utah's loss came in the third-place game of the NCAA Tournament and BYU's NIT achievement was meaningful in those days. The '66 NCAA event became culturally important because of what else happened in Maryland, as Texas Western won the championship — which Utah could have prevented by beating the Miners in the semifinals the previous night.
The 1980-81 season, when BYU played in the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight and Utah reached the Sweet 16, is generally viewed as the most glorious year of college basketball in the state. Yet a case can be made for 1965-66, when the Utah schools featured star players, legendary coaches (including Weber State's Dick Motta and Utah State's Ladell Andersen) and high-scoring offenses. And only 36 schools were selected for postseason play, between two events.
The teams of the '60s could be credited with driving interest that led to the construction of big arenas on their campuses, with this twist: J. Willard Marriott, the namesake of BYU's venue, watched Utah play in the Final Four, near his home in the Washington, D.C., area.
Utah was led by forward Jerry Chambers, center Lyndon MacKay, guard Merv Jackson and coach Jack Gardner. Even while losing twice to BYU, Utah won the championship of the six-team Western Athletic Conference and received a bye into what's now known as the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
In the only season between 1964 and '73 that UCLA failed to win the national title, the Bruins did not make the NCAA field. In the West Region in Los Angeles, Utah beat Pacific and Pac-8 champion Oregon State, advancing to the Final Four — although that term had not yet been created — at the University of Maryland's 14,000-seat Cole Fieldhouse.
In "Glory Road," the movie released for the 40-year anniversary of Texas Western's championship, the only mention of Utah comes via a shot of the banner listing the semifinal teams. Chambers was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after scoring 143 points in four games, but his 38-point effort was not enough in an 85-78 loss to Texas Western — which later became Texas-El Paso, as a WAC member.
The next night, after Utah lost to Duke in the consolation game, the Miners beat Kentucky for the title. Salt Lake City newspapers and most other accounts made no mention of Texas Western's starting lineup of five African-American players vs. Kentucky's all-white team. In a 2006 Tribune interview, Chambers said he wanted the Miners to win the championship after beating his team, but not because of any breakthrough for his race. "I can honestly say I never thought about it in those terms," he said.
Kentucky and other programs eventually integrated. Chambers wonders what would have happened culturally if Utah had kept the Miners out of the title game and beaten Kentucky: "Maybe they would have said they needed to get a player like Jerry Chambers."
BYU would not have a black basketball player until 1974. The Cougars were loaded with mostly Utah-produced talent in the '60s. With no 3-pointer or shot clock in college basketball, BYU averaged 99.5 points in 1965-66 with coach Stan Watts' fast-break offense. The Cougars scored so quickly that "a shot clock wouldn't have done us any good," BYU guard Jim Jimas said.
The Cougars, once ranked No. 6 nationally that season, finished second in the WAC, despite victories of 94-93 and 115-100 over Utah. BYU was seeded into the quarterfinals of the 14-team NIT at Madison Square Garden. "A week in New York — I couldn't believe it," said Cougar forward Bill Ruffner.
Bonded by a six-week summer trip to South America and Mexico, the Cougars finished their season by beating Temple, Army and New York University — now a Division III program, and then the darling of the New York media, to the displeasure of Salt Lake City writers. "Publicity-wise, the New York press could only see NYU," George Ferguson wrote in the Deseret News. "That made BYU's win even sweeter."
The Tribune's Bill Coltrin noted that at least the flag-twirling members of BYU's spirit squad received attention: "So far, the papers haven't been too hot on the Cougar team, but those gals who strut their stuff on the floor are getting nothing but raves and pictures."
BYU's toughest game in New York came in the semifinals vs. Army, coached by 25-year-old Bob Knight. "Same Knight, Different Channel," a book about his West Point era, details how Knight visited the officials' locker room after the game, upset about a blocking foul with his team leading by two points, as BYU's Dick Nemelka drove toward the basket. Nemelka's two free throws tied the game, then Jimas stole the ball and made a layup, sparking a 66-60 victory.
The Cougars' scoring balance was displayed in the title game, a 97-84 defeat of NYU. In front of 18,479 fans at the Garden, center Craig Raymond started in place of Jim Eakins in Watts' alternate lineup and posted 21 points and 18 rebounds. Gary Hill, replacing the injured Neil Roberts, also scored 21 points, followed by Steve Kramer (18), Nemelka (15) and Jeff Congdon (11).
None of BYU's players received the MVP award for winning the NIT. The trophy went to Bill Melchionni of Villanova, the third-place team. "Maybe they just couldn't decide" among the Cougars, Jimas said. "It could have gone to any of the starters."
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1966 NCAA Tournament
West Region
Utah 83, Pacific 51
Utah 70, Oregon State 64
Final Four
Texas Western 85, Utah 78
Consolation game
Duke 79, Utah 77
Utah's other NCAA Final Four appearances: 1944 (championship), 1961, 1998.
1966 NIT
Quarterfinal
BYU 90, Temple 78
Semifinal
BYU 66, Army 60
Championship
BYU 97, NYU 84
BYU's other NIT championship: 1951; Semifinals: 2013