Hartman was the only head coach in the eight-man induction class, which included Dave Meyers (UCLA), Sihugo Green (Duquesne), Lennie Rosenbluth (North Carolina), Wayne Estes (Utah State), Sam Lacey (New Mexico State), John Rudometkin (USC) and Tom Stith (St. Bonaventure).
Hartman is the sixth person with K-State to be named to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, including the fourth men’s basketball head coach following Jack Gardner (2006), Tex Winter (2010) and his former player Lon Kruger (2022). In addition, former Wildcat players Rolando Blackman (2015) and Bob Boozer (2016) have also been elected to the Hall of Fame.
Details for the induction event will be announced at a later date.
Hartman won nearly 600 games in his legendary coaching career, which included stints at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College from 1955-62 and Southern Illinois from 1962-70. He won a NJCAA national championship at Coffeyville in 1961-62, going a perfect 32-0, while he led the Salukis to the 1967 NIT Championship with a 24-2 record.
In 23 seasons at the Division I level, Hartman compiled a 439-233 (.653) record.
Hartman endeared himself to K-Staters for a number of reasons, but none more memorable than his ability to take seemingly less talented teams and consistently come out on top.
Hartman led K-State to a 295-169 record, three Big Eight regular-season conference titles (1971-72, 1972-73, 1976-77), two Big Eight Tournament championships (1977, 1980) and nine postseason appearances during his 16 seasons as head coach. He saw the Wildcats register 20 or more wins seven times, including 24 wins in both 1976-77 and 1980-81. He also guided the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament seven times (1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982), including four trips (1972, 1973, 1975, 1981) to the Elite Eight. His teams finished the season ranked among the Top 20 five times, including the No. 7 (UPI) and No. 9 (AP) rankings in 1972-73.
Hartman was honored as National Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) after the 1980-81 season. Led by All-American Rolando Blackman, the eight-seeded Wildcats charged into the NCAA West Regional Finals on the strength of upset wins over San Francisco, No. 2 Oregon State and No. 19 Illinois. The Wildcats were denied their first Final Four in 17 years by No. 6 North Carolina in the finals. He was also named Big Eight Coach of the Year following the 1974-75 and 1976-77 seasons.
In addition, Hartman was the head coach for the United States at the 1983 Pan American Games and led the Americans to the gold medal.
Hartman coached a number of future pros. While at SIU, he tutored Walt Frazier, and at K-State, he produced players like legends Rolando Blackman, Mike Evans, Lon Kruger, Ed Nealy and Chuckie Williams. In all, he coached 10 All-Americans, five Big Eight Players of the year and 16 first team All-Big Eight selections.
Hartman began his coaching career at the community college ranks, posting a 150-46 (.765) mark in seven seasons at Coffeyville Community College in Coffeyville, Kan., from 1955-62. During his stint at Coffeyville, he was one of the few coaches to take a junior college team through a season undefeated, including the national title, as his 1962 squad went 32-0.
Hartman moved to SIU in 1962-63, leading the Salukis to a 144-64 (.689) record, which included six postseason appearances (1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1969). His teams were the NCAA College Division runner-up in both 1965 and 1966 before winning the NIT crown in 1967.
A native of Dewey, Okla., and a two-sport star at Oklahoma State, Hartman played professionally on the gridiron. After garnering All-Missouri Valley Conference honors as the Cowboys’ quarterback, he played for the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. He was also an outstanding basketball player for OSU and played for the legendary Henry Iba.
After retiring from coaching in 1986, Hartman served as a color analyst for the Wildcat Television Network as well as the Big Eight television package. He served as interim coach of the women’s basketball team during the 1995-96 season, guiding the squad to a 3-4 record. He remained active in K-State Athletics until his death at the age of 73 on Nov. 6, 1998.
Hartman was inducted into the Southern Illinois University Hall of Fame in 1986, the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1990, the State of Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1990 and the National Junior College Hall of Fame in 1991.
The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, a program of the NABC Foundation, has honored the game’s greatest contributors since 2006. The Hall of Fame is housed in The College Basketball Experience adjacent to the T-Mobile Center in downtown Kansas City.
For more information can be found at the collegebasketballexperience.com.
