ATHENS, Ga. — Orlando “Tubby” Smith, who led the Georgia Bulldogs to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments including the “Sweet 16” in 1996, will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame this October, the Hall of Fame announced on Monday.
Smith arrived in Athens in 1995 after leading Tulsa to back-to-back “Sweet 16” appearances. He inherited a veteran squad and made an immediate impact on Georgia’s fortunes. The Bulldogs climbed as high as No. 14 in the AP poll after racing to a 10-1 start with the lone loss at North Carolina.
Georgia eventually earned the No. 8 seed in the West Regional of the 1996 NCAA West Regional. The Bulldogs defeated Clemson (81-74) and upset top-seeded Purdue (76-69) in Albuquerque, N.M. Georgia then dropped a heartbreaking 83-81 overtime decision to Syracuse, the eventual NCAA runner-up, in the “Sweet 16” in Denver.
The Bulldogs returned to “March Madness” in 1997 as a No. 3 seed, the highest in program history. Georgia also reached the finals of the SEC Tournament that season and finished 24-9 overall, matching the school record for single-season wins.
Smith, who is one of just four coaches to lead five different schools to the NCAA Tournament, completed his 31-year career as a collegiate head coach with a record of 642-370. He led teams to 18 editions of March Madness, doing so at Tulsa in 1994 and 1995; Georgia in 1996 and 1997; Kentucky for 10 straight bids from 1998-2007; Minnesota in 2009, 2010 and 2013; and Texas Tech in 2016. Smith led Kentucky to a national title in 1998 during his first season with the Wildcats, and he coached teams that reached four “Elite Eights” and eight “Sweet 16s.”
The Hall of Fames class of 2026 includes national championship coaches Jay Wright and Tubby Smith, longtime Kansas coach Ted Owens, BYU superstar Danny Ainge, Michigan scoring ace Glen Rice and the late UCLA legend Walt Hazzard.
“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.”
Each induction class is selected by the Blue Ribbon Selection Committee, comprised of college basketball executives and respected leaders around the country, and administered by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Foundation.
The Class of 2026 will be formally enshrined during the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Celebration presented by UMB Private Wealth Management on Oct. 22 at the College Basketball Experience in Kansas City, Missouri.