Centennial moments, 1965-68

The following events helped shape the NCAA from 1965 through 1968.

• 1966 (January 11) — The first Honors Luncheon is conducted at the 60th Convention (50 government officials — including three cabinet members, 17 senators and 30 Congressmen — are honored).

• 1966 (March 11) — Kentucky Wesleyan University wins the College Division Basketball Championship, the first of eight Division II titles between 1966 and 2001.

• 1966 (March 19) — Texas Western College (now the University of Texas at El Paso) defeats the University of Kentucky in the basketball final with a starting team consisting entirely of black players.

• 1966 (April 23) — The National Collegiate Athletic Bureau is separated into publishing and public relations functions. The new College Athletics Publishing Service is moved to Phoenix.

• 1966 (April 23) — The Theodore Roosevelt Award, the Association’s highest honor, is established. Dwight Eisenhower receives the first award at the 1967 Convention, where 12 astronauts who won varsity letters also are honored.

• 1967 (March 17) — Winston-Salem State University, led by most outstanding player Earl Monroe and coached by Clarence “Big House” Gaines, becomes the first historically black institution to win an NCAA basketball title (College Division champion).

• 1967 (September) — Indiana State University becomes the first member institution to install an artificial playing surface (AstroTurf).

• 1967 (October 24) — The NCAA appoints a committee to study the feasibility of establishing development/supervision of women’s intercollegiate athletics.

• 1968 — James “Doc” Counsilman publishes “The Science of Swimming” during a period of success for his Indiana University, Bloomington, swim teams.

• 1968 (January 20) — The University of Houston defeats the University of California, Los Angeles, in Houston’s Astrodome before the largest basketball crowd ever.

• 1968 (March 7-9) — The first College Division Gymnastics Championships are conducted at Springfield College.

• 1968 (June 5-7) — The first College Division Baseball Championship is conducted at Southwest Missouri State University.

• 1968 (September 1) — A total of 223 members select membership in University Division and 386 in College Division under new legislation.