C.M. Newton was Alabama basketball coach for 12 years

C.M. Newton, who began a long association with college basketball as a self-admitted backup player to legendary Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp and became legendary in his own right, has died in Tuscaloosa, where his rise to international prominence began as head basketball coach at The University of Alabama.

Charles Martin Newton was 88 years old. He was born in Rockwood, Tenn., on Feb. 2, 1930, and was raised in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He died Monday afternoon at Hospice of West Alabama.

Coach Newton was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000, the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame last year.

Last year he was the subject of an ESPN Films production, “Courage Matters: The C.M. Newton Story.”

It is not lost on history that C.M. Newton was closely associated with two of the giants of intercollegiate athletics, having played for (and later competed against) Adolph Rupp and having been hired as Alabama’s head coach in 1968 by Crimson Tide Athletics Director Paul Bryant, who had been head football coach at Kentucky when C.M. was in Lexington playing basketball and baseball for the Wildcats. “Newt,” as he was known to Coach Rupp, was a member of the UK 1951 national championship team.

With Bryant coaching football and Newton coaching basketball, Alabama had the dominant two major sports in the Southeastern Conference in the 1970s.

And C.M. Newton became a great part of the history of basketball, considered the most influential man in the game. From 1992 to 1996, he served as the president of USA Basketball, and under his direction professional basketball players were added to the United States Olympic basketball team. That decision resulted in the 1992 “Dream Team.”

From 1979 to 1985 he served as chair of the NCAA Rules Committee. During his tenure the NCAA adopted the shot clock, the three-point line, and the coaches’ box. He was a member of the NCAA Division I Basketball Committee, overseeing the NCAA Tournament from 1992 through 1999, including the last two years as chairman.

In 1998 a survey done by the San Antonio Express-News proclaimed him “the most powerful man in college basketball.”

Former Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese proclaimed C.M. Newton the best NCAA basketball committee chairman ever.

Although Coach Newton was head basketball coach for 12 years at Transylvania College in Lexington following a brief career as a pitcher in the New York Yankees chain, it was his success at Alabama that started him on to his way to halls of fame.

When Bryant was looking for a new basketball coach in 1968, he took Rupp’s advice and selected C.M., who had served as a graduate assistant while working on his doctorate at Alabama.

Coach Newton had made some news when he recruited the first black player at Transylvania.

That was nothing, though, to the transformation he made in Alabama basketball. When he signed Wendell Hudson as the first African-American scholarship athlete in 1969, it was the start of a rapid rise in basketball fortunes.

In 12 seasons at Alabama, Coach Newton led the Crimson Tide to a record of 211-123, and Bama became the only school other than Kentucky to win three consecutive Southeastern Conference championships (1974, 1975, and 1976). He is the only Alabama basketball coach in history to be selected back-to-back SEC Coach of the Year (1975 and 1976). His Bama squads were the first to earn National Invitation and NCAA tournament berths.

Although there were many highlights in his Alabama tenure, there unquestionably was great pride in his Bama’s team defeating Rupp’s Kentucky squad, 73-70, in the final meeting between pupil and mentor in 1972.

In addition to Hudson, Alabama star players in the Newton Era included Leon Douglas, Reggie King, Charles Cleveland, T.R. Dunn, Ray Odums, Anthony Murray, Robert “Rah Rah” Scott, Eddie Phillips, and Mike Davis.

He also had essentially the same assistant coaches throughout his career at Alabama, Wimp Sanderson, who would succeed him, and John Bostick, who would follow him to Vanderbilt as an assistant and to Kentucky as an administrator.

Alabama’s basketball recruiting suite in Coleman Coliseum is named in his honor.

C.M. was an advocate for introducing youth to the game of basketball and spent much time in promoting and teaching the game, often with his young son, Martin, demonstrating skills. Martin has followed in his father’s footsteps in athletics, now serving as director of athletics at Samford University in Birmingham.

Following the 1980 season, C.M. Newton announced his retirement, not planning to coach again. He became an assistant commissioner for the SEC. While there, he was approached by Vanderbilt Athletics Director Roy Kramer to become head coach at Vanderbilt. He became coach of the Commodores and led them to a 129-115 mark in eight seasons and berths in the NCAA Tournament in 1988 and 1989. Vandy became the benchmark of teams benefiting from the three-point shot that was instituted during that time.

Meanwhile, his alma mater, Kentucky, had fallen on hard times owing to NCAA probation. C.M. Newton was called upon to become UK’s new director of athletics. He first made the successful hire of Rick Pitino as basketball coach. Among his other hires for Kentucky were Bernadette Mattox, the Wildcats first black women’s basketball coach in 1995; Tubby Smith, the first black men’s basketball coach to replace Pitino when he took the job as head coach of the Boston Celtics. Among his hires in football was taking Bill Curry from Alabama in 1990.

He was named Athletics Director of the Year in 1999. He retired as athletics director on June 30, 2000, and the football field in Commonwealth Stadium was named the “C.M. Newton Field.” (It is now known as “C.M. Newton Grounds.”)

Even in retirement, C.M. Newton continued to have a large role in college basketball as President of the NIT (which is owned by the NCAA) and as a consultant on virtually every major basketball coaching move in the nation. He remained active until his health began to fail and even then was a regular at Crimson Tide basketball games where visiting coaches made it a point to greet this giant of their game.

C.M. was preceded in death by his childhood sweetheart and wife of 49 years, Evelyn Davis Newton. He is survived by his wife of 16 years, Nancy Watts Newton. He also is survived by his three children, Deborah Newton, Tracy Chappelle, and Martin Newton; ; stepdaughters Laura Fletcher and Sherry Plott; six grandchildren, Katie Champion, Madison Wood (Andrew), Charles Martin Newton III, Joshua Newton, Sheridan Chappelle and Davis Chappelle; two great grandchildren, Charles Martin Newton IV and Sawyer Champion; brother Lt Col. Richard Y. Newton, Jr.; nephews William F. Bryan (Becky) and Lt. Gen. Richard Y. Newton III (Joey); and niece Catherine Ahlwardt (El).

He also was predeceased by sister Jean Newton Bryan, father Richard Yates Newton, and mother Adelia Martin Newton.

Services will be at First Presbyterian Church in Tuscaloosa with the Rev. James Goodlet officiating at a time to be announced.