Adolph Rupp and the Rise of Kentucky Basketball

An in-depth look at the life of the influential University of Kentucky basketball coach and his legacy. Known as the "Man in the Brown Suit" and the "Baron of the Bluegrass, " Adolph Rupp (1901–1977) is a towering figure in the history of college athletics. In Adolph Rupp and the Rise of Kentucky Basketball, historian James Duane Bolin goes beyond the wins and losses to present the fullest account of Rupp's life to date based on more than one-hundred interviews with Rupp, his assistant coaches, former players, University of Kentucky presidents and faculty members, and his admirers and critics, as well as court transcripts, newspaper accounts, and other archival materials. His teams won four NCAA championships (1948, 1949, 1951, and 1958), the 1946 National Invitation Tournament title, and twenty-seven Southeastern Conference regular season titles. Rupp's influence on the game of college basketball and his impact on Kentucky culture are both much broader than his impressive record on the court. Bolin covers Rupp's early years?from his rural upbringing in a German Mennonite family in Halstead, Kansas, through his undergraduate years at the University of Kansas playing on teams coached by Phog Allen and taking classes with James Naismith, the inventor of basketball?to his success at Kentucky. This revealing portrait of a pivotal figure in American sports also exposes how college basketball changed, for better or worse, in the twentieth century. Praise for Adolph Rupp and the Rise of Kentucky Basketball "This detailed and richly researched biography is written in a clear and engaging manner that reflects the work of a historian at the top of his game. Bolin is definitely fully engaged with Adolph Rupp's multi-faceted life and has demonstrated his mastery of his wide-ranging sources. An excellent book!" —Richard O. Davies, Distinguished Profess or History, Emeritus, University of Nevada, Reno "An incisive analysis of Adolph Rupp's role in creating the Big Blue Nation.... An unvarnished and well-sourced examination of a flawed human being.... A must-read for any true Kentucky fan." —Roberta Schultz, WVXU Radio Cincinnati Known as the "Man in the Brown Suit" and "Baron of the Bluegrass," Adolph Rupp (1901--1977) is a towering figure in the history of college athletics. From 1930 until his retirement in 1972, Rupp coached the University of Kentucky men's basketball team to unprecedented success. His teams won four NCAA championships (1948, 1949, 1951, and 1958) and twenty-seven Southeastern Conference regular season titles. He was also the winningest coach in NCAA division I men's basketball history, a distinction he held for thirty years. Based on more than one hundred interviews with Rupp, his assistant coaches, former players, University of Kentucky presidents and faculty members, and his admirers and critics, as well as court transcripts, newspaper accounts, and other archival materials, this biography presents the fullest account of Rupp's life to date. James Duane Bolin covers his early years -- from his rural upbringing in a German Mennonite family in Halstead, Kansas, through his time at the University of Kansas playing on teams coached by Phog Allen and taking classes with James Naismith, the inventor of basketball -- as well as his success at Kentucky. Adolph Rupp changed sports in America. The fame and fortune that Rupp found with the Wildcats also changed him. Rupp's inability -- or was it unwillingness? -- to integrate the UK basketball program until the very end of his coaching career caused critics to consider his name synonymous with the segregationist South. This biography also considers the possibility that, as sportswriter Dave Kindred wrote, Rupp "disliked all people equally, whatever their color, if they happened to stand in the way of his team winning a game." Bolin also addresses the point-shaving scandal of 1951, which presaged NCAA violations that rocked college sports in the years that followed. Rupp pioneered athletic recruitment and scholarship offers. He was the first Kentucky coach to schedule games outside of the South, and he took a lead in promoting the sport at a national level.Adolph Rupp and the Rise of Kentucky Basketballnot only presents a portrait of a pivotal figure in American sports -- it also reveals how college basketball changed, for better or worse, in the twentieth century "As the person most responsible for creating the phenomenon that is University of Kentucky basketball, Adolph Rupp (1901-1977) is a legend in Kentucky and in the larger world of Division I college basketball. As UK's coach from 1930-1972, Rupp led the program to four NCAA championships and is the third most winning coach in NCAA history, behind Bobby Knight and Dean Smith. Rupp's record is not without blemish, however. In the late 1940s, three of his players were indicted in a point-shaving scandal, and in more recent years his legacy has been tarnished by claims that he was a racist. He was portrayed as such in the 2006 film Glory Road, which dramatized the 1966 defeat of the popular (and all-white) Rupp's Runts to an all-black Texas Western team in the NCAA championship game. In Adolph Rupp and the Rise of Big-Time College Basketball in America, James Duane Bolin sets the record straight by presenting a balanced picture of Rupp, with all of his faults-and incredible successes-firmly intact. Drawing upon a wealth of primary sources--including game summaries, correspondence, business and legal records, and hundreds of hours of recorded interviews with Rupp's relatives, former players, assistant coaches and administrators, and even the man himself--Bolin is able to provide an unprecedented level of insight into Rupp's life. The book begins with Rupp's youth in Kansas, including accounts of his interactions with James Naismith, basketball's inventor. Subsequent chapters examine his professional life, both before and during his tenure at UK; his most storied teams, including the Fabulous Five, which won championships in 1948 and 1949; and his many other business interests, such as his 500-acre farm and bourbon distilling"-- Provided by publisher

Known as the "Man in the Brown Suit" and the "Baron of the Bluegrass," Adolph Rupp (1901–1977) is a towering figure in the history of college athletics. In Adolph Rupp and the Rise of Kentucky Basketball, historian James Duane Bolin goes beyond the wins and losses to present the fullest account of Rupp's life to date based on more than one-hundred interviews with Rupp, his assistant coaches, former players, University of Kentucky presidents and faculty members, and his admirers and critics, as well as court transcripts, newspaper accounts, and other archival materials. His teams won four NCAA championships (1948, 1949, 1951, and 1958), the 1946 National Invitation Tournament title, and twenty-seven Southeastern Conference regular season titles. Rupp's influence on the game of college basketball and his impact on Kentucky culture are both much broader than his impressive record on the court.

Bolin covers Rupp's early years—from his rural upbringing in a German Mennonite family in Halstead, Kansas, through his undergraduate years at the University of Kansas playing on teams coached by Phog Allen and taking classes with James Naismith, the inventor of basketball—to his success at Kentucky. This revealing portrait of a pivotal figure in American sports also exposes how college basketball changed, for better or worse, in the twentieth century.