• National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Release
Former Belmont University men's basketball head coach
Rick Byrd has been selected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2021, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced Sunday.
Byrd will join the late Len Bias (Maryland), David Greenwood (UCLA), Hersey Hawkins (Bradley), Jim Jackson (Ohio State), Antawn Jamison (North Carolina), Paul Pierce (Kansas) and coaching legend Tom Penders in the Class of 2021.
The honorees will be enshrined in November 2021 in Kansas City at the 2021 National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Celebration. The event is part of Kansas City's Hall of Fame Weekend, which also includes the annual Hall of Fame Classic tournament.
A 2019 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction candidate and Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and OVC Hall of Fame inductee, this ranks among the highest honors in Byrd's illustrious coaching career.
Byrd, who systematically led Belmont to national prominence in both NCAA Division I and NAIA, ranks 12th all-time among NCAA Division I head coaches with 805 career victories.
The Knoxville, Tennessee native led Belmont to eight NCAA Tournament appearances (2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2019) and 17 conference championships (10 regular season, seven tournament) in his final 14 years, national top 25 poll votes eight of his last nine years and notable victories over the likes of North Carolina, UCLA, Marquette, Cincinnati, Alabama, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri, Stanford, Butler and Temple, among others.
Moreover, for programs with at least six decades of history, Byrd retired first among NCAA Division I head coaches when ranked by percentage of schools' all-time wins; accounting for a staggering 62.4 percent of Belmont's total victories.
A 14-time district or conference coach of the year, Byrd's career conference winning percentage of .797 (447-114) ranks second in NCAA Division I, behind only Mark Few of Gonzaga.
Under Byrd's leadership, the Bruin program was marked by sustained excellence, one of only nine NCAA Division I programs to win 19 or more games each of his final 14 seasons (BYU, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina and San Diego State).
Five Belmont players earned Associated Press All-America recognition (Adam Sonn, Alex Renfroe, Ian Clark, J.J. Mann, Evan Bradds). Clark won an NBA Championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2017.
But of even greater significance to Byrd, Belmont established an unparalleled standard of academic achievement among NCAA Division I programs. Since 2001, Belmont leads the nation in Academic All-America selections (17, including Dylan Windler in 2019) and is the only program to rank among the nation's best every year since inception of the Academic Progress Rate (APR).
Belmont has posted a team grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher 20 consecutive years and claimed the 'Academic National Championship' on InsiderHigherEd.com each of its last three NCAA Tournament appearances (2013, 2015, 2019).
Furthermore, in the NCAA Division I era, every Belmont player who completed eligibility under Byrd's watch earned his degree, with only two scholarship student-athletes transferring out over his final 15 years.
Byrd served as NCAA Men's Basketball Rules' Committee Chairman from 2013-15, whereby sweeping measures including the reduction of the shot clock, expansion of the restricted arc for block/charge calls, and freedom of movement and pace of play were instituted.
Byrd received the 2012 NCAA Bob Frederick award for his lifelong commitment to sportsmanship, ethical conduct and fair play.
Prior to Belmont, Byrd served as head coach at Lincoln Memorial (TN) University and Maryville (TN) College.
Statement from Rick Byrd
"It is really hard to express adequately my appreciation to the NABC and the College Basketball Hall of Fame committee for this most prestigious honor. The best I can do is say I am overwhelmed, humbled, and feel a great sense of gratitude to receive this ultimate recognition for those in our profession. Coaching basketball was all I ever wanted to do, and coaching college basketball was all I did for 42 years. It was my life-long work to coach young men, and to be honored by my peers for doing something I loved is more than I could have dared to hope for. The game of basketball has given me far more than I could ever give back.
"There are so many to thank for their part in this honor. My family, the Belmont University family, friends, fans, and the many great coaches that I faced throughout the years who pushed me to improve my craft all have played a very significant role in my career. Much of the credit for this recognition is certainly due to the members of our coaching staff, as I was blessed with talented and loyal assistant coaches and support staff. Most importantly, however, this award was achieved because of the quality student-athletes I was honored to coach. This game is really about the players, and I was so fortunate to share many remarkable moments with these great young men over the past four decades. I hope each one of them know that this recognition has his name on it as well."