TEMPE, Ariz. -- Gary Blair had been the Arkansas women's basketball coach for one season but had heard so much about an NAIA coach two hours from Fayetteville that he had to go check him out.
So sometime in 1994, Blair climbed into his car and headed south toward Little Rock before pulling off Interstate 40 at Russellville. He had a hamburger at Feltner's Whatta-Burger, a well-known eating joint, then walked unannounced into Tucker Coliseum on the Arkansas Tech campus.
Foley vs. Blair
Texas A&M Coach Gary Blair has had the upper hand against UALR Coach Joe Foley. The coaches meet again today in the NCAA Tournament.
DATE;SCORE;SITE
Dec. 3, 2003;Texas A&M 54, UALR 45;College Station, Texas
Dec. 30, 2004;Texas A&M 62, UALR 55;Little Rock
Dec. 30, 2005;Texas A&M 78, UALR 64;College Station, Texas
Nov. 16, 2010;Texas A&M 87, UALR 41;College Station, Texas
Nov. 17, 2011;Texas A&M 83, UALR 54;Little Rock
Tale of the Tape
FOLEY;BLAIR
699-211;Career record;695-281
243-130;At current school;287-118
4;NCAA appearances*;21
1;NCAA Tournament victories;33
3;National titles^;1
*NCAA Division I only
^Foley won two NAIA titles and one Division II title at Arkansas Tech
TODAY’S GAME
UALR VS. TEXAS A&M
WHEN 3 p.m. Central
WHERE Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe, Ariz.
SEEDS UALR: No. 11. Texas A&M: No. 6
RECORDS UALR 28-4; Texas A&M 23-9
RADIO KPZK-AM, 1250, in Little Rock
TV ESPN2
INTERNET ESPN3, ualrtrojans.com
"I just had to see it for myself," Blair said of what he had heard about Joe Foley's practices.
Blair and Foley have been close friends ever since, a bond that was built on basketball courts in the winter and on golf courses in the summer.
Today, they will face off for the sixth time in their careers when Foley's 11th-seeded UALR Trojans (28-4) play Blair's sixth-seeded Texas A&M Aggies (23-9) at 3 p.m. Central at Wells Fargo Arena. But this meeting will be unlike any of their previous matchups because the winner advances to the second round of the NCAA Women's Tournament.
Texas A&M is still trying to get over a season-ending knee injury to point guard Jordan Jones, while the Trojans are playing the best they have all season. Both coaches agreed Friday that today's game could come down to guard play.
No matter how it goes, both have enjoyed their reunion.
"It's special," Foley said. "You don't have that very many times in coaching where you're going to play against your best friend in the NCAA Tournament."
The friendship goes back to that day Blair went to watch Foley's practice more than two decades ago. Foley had won two NAIA national championships already and had won 30 games in a season five times, yet he was struck by Blair's presence on his court.
"To have one of the better Division I coaches walk into the gym and say, 'Hey, do you care if I watch practice?' That's pretty special," Foley said. "I think that shows you how much Gary respects the game. He's always trying to learn, and even though he's one of the more well-established coaches, that shows you how much enthusiasm he has for the game."
Blair remembers being more caught off guard by Foley's tactics than his philosophies.
As Foley pointed out Friday, a wide gap exists between the two in terms of philosophy. Blair runs set offenses and puts less emphasis on defense. Foley remains loyal to a motion offense and man-to-man defense.
"I watched him just drill and drill and drill," Blair said. "I marveled at how he could keep their attention, and then he would turn the drills into his offense. That's what a true motion coach can do."
The two remained friends, even after both changed jobs in 2003. After 10 seasons in Arkansas, highlighted by a Final Four run in 1998, Blair left for Texas A&M. That same year, Foley left Arkansas Tech after 456 victories in 16 seasons to take the job at UALR, a program that had won 29 games in four seasons since it had been re-established.
Blair's support for Foley taking the job played a big part in Foley's decision.
"He thought I should take it," Foley said. "[If not], I probably would have thought about it a little bit more. I respect him that much."
Their careers have grown to new heights since.
Blair has taken Texas A&M to 10 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, and in 2011 he led the Aggies to their first national championship. Foley has coached UALR to heights few thought possible. The Trojans have surpassed 20 victories in eight of the past nine seasons, and they are playing in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the past six seasons.
Blair said he continues to be impressed by Foley's attention to detail, and Foley has learned from Blair how to be more media savvy and how to better serve as a promoter for the women's game.
"He's the most low-maintenance great coach there is," Blair said. "Most people around the country could not tell you where UALR is or who Joe Foley is, but the coaches that know the game realize he's one of the best."
Even during the season, the two find time to talk, and in the offseason they'll meet up on a golf course while on the recruiting trail. Last summer, they spent a day playing golf at The Alotian in Roland, and Texas A&M assistant Bob Starkey traveled to Little Rock to work at a motion offense clinic with Foley.
"You couldn't find two coaches any farther apart as far as coaching philosophy," Foley said. "But as far as philosophy of life, we're right along the same line."
Sports on 03/21/2015