Tubby Smith’s college basketball résumé is headed to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
The former Texas Tech coach, who led the Red Raiders from 2013-15, was selected for the Class of 2026. Smith’s final season in Lubbock brought Texas Tech back to the NCAA Tournament in 2016, ending a nine-year absence and helping lay the groundwork for the program’s rise in the years that followed.
Smith’s career stretches across more than three decades and seven Division I jobs, and the Hall of Fame recognition reflects just how much he accomplished along the way. His first season at Kentucky produced a national championship in 1998, and he later guided five different programs to the NCAA Tournament, Texas Tech included. Over the course of his head coaching career, Smith piled up nearly 650 wins, with 46 of those coming with the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech now has two former head coaches in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Bob Knight was inducted as part of the Class of 2006 after coaching the Red Raiders from 2001-08 and finishing with a 138-82 record.
Smith joins a Class of 2026 that also includes Jay Wright, Ted Owens, Danny Ainge, Glen Rice and Walt Hazzard. The class is chosen by the Blue Ribbon Selection Committee, which is made up of college basketball executives and respected leaders from around the country, and is administered by the NABC Foundation.
The group will be formally enshrined on Oct. 22, 2026, at the College Basketball Experience in Kansas City, Missouri, during the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Celebration presented by UMB Private Wealth Management.
“The Class of 2026 represents the very best of college basketball-individuals whose performance, leadership, and impact helped shape the game at the highest level,” said Kevin Henderson, CEO of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. “Their legacies will forever be preserved as part of the sport’s rich history.”
This will be the 20th class inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
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