The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Men’s Basketball to host Abe Lemons Classic
07.06.2021 | Men's Basketball
The Longhorns will host Northern Colorado, San Jose State and California Baptist in November as part of multi-team event.
AUSTIN, Texas — The pairings and schedule for the Abe Lemons Classic, a multi-team event featuring Texas, California Baptist, Northern Colorado and San Jose State, were announced Tuesday by the Gazelle Group. The Longhorns will host Northern Colorado (Nov. 17), San Jose State (Nov. 20) and California Baptist (Nov. 24) at the Frank Erwin Center in a tournament which will pay tribute to the legendary Texas Basketball head coach.
"We are excited to compete in an event which will honor the legacy of the late Coach Abe Lemons, one of the best coaches in the history of college basketball and a member of the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor," Texas head coach Chris Beard said. "I had the pleasure of meeting Coach Lemons and spending time with him during my first year as an assistant with Coach Knight. Coach Lemons was truly one of a kind. His sense of humor and personality were second to none. He was the ultimate winner as a coach, and his teams played innovative styles and with a commitment to teamwork. Coach Lemons is a Texas legend."
"The Abe Lemons Classic is another early step to Unite the Texas Basketball Family," Beard continued. "It is a great opportunity to honor Coach Lemons and his family while also recognizing and embracing all of Coach's former players and staff."
Known for both his success on the court and folksy humor off the court, A. E. "Abe" Lemons coached for 34 years in stops at Oklahoma City University (twice), The University of Texas and UT-Pan American. He registered an all-time mark of 599-343 before retiring at the conclusion of the 1989-90 season. Lemons began his career at Oklahoma City in 1955 and won more than 300 games in 18 seasons before moving to Pan American.
He served as head coach at Texas for six seasons (1976-82). During his time in Austin, Lemons led the Longhorns to an overall record of 110-63 (.636), including the 1978 NIT Championship and back-to-back Southwest Conference titles in 1977-78 and 1978-79. Inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in 1994, he passed in 2002.
The Abe Lemons Classic will run from Wednesday, Nov. 17 through Wednesday, Nov. 24, and all four participating teams will play three games. Tip times and television networks will be announced at a later date.
The event is produced by the Gazelle Group of Princeton, N.J. The Gazelle Group is a sports marketing firm, specializing in event production and management, client representation, and sponsorship consulting. For more information on the Gazelle Group, please visit: www.gazellegroup.com.
2021 Abe Lemons Classic Schedule
|
Date |
Matchup |
|
Wednesday, Nov. 17 |
Northern Colorado at TEXAS |
|
Thursday, Nov. 18 |
San Jose State at California Baptist |
|
Saturday, Nov. 20 |
San Jose State at TEXAS |
|
Sunday, Nov. 21 |
Northern Colorado at California Baptist |
|
Tuesday, Nov. 23 |
Northern Colorado at San Jose State |
|
Wednesday, Nov. 24 |
California Baptist at TEXAS |
