Former college basketball coach and administrator C.M. Newton died Monday. He was 88 years old.
Newton spent 20 years as a coach on the D1 level at Alabama and Vanderbilt, amassing a 340-238 record. He integrated Alabama’s basketball program in 1969.
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Newton began his coaching career at Transylvania College and he played on the 1951 Kentucky team that won the NCAA Championship.
"Coach Newton was a true leader in intercollegiate athletics," Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne said in a statement. "He took risks and was willing to do the right thing even when it was not the most popular thing.”
Newton became the athletic director at Kentucky in 1989 and revitalized the basketball program when he hired Rick Pitino. The Wildcats won two national championships in men’s basketball under Newton’s leadership.
"C.M. Newton is a giant in the history of the University of Kentucky, the Southeastern Conference and in the sport of basketball," current Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart said in a statement.
Newton’s career as a player, coach and athletic director spanned more than 50 years. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.
