Hall of Fame

GUY V. LEWIS
CLASS OF 2021

Known for those red and white polka-dotted towels he always had in his hand, and his Phi Slama Jama team of the 1980s, Guy V. Lewis was the legendary Houston Cougars coach whose teams played above the rim and who, along with Yeoman, was a force in changing the face of intercollegiate athletics in the South.

Son of Guy V. Lewis, Terry Lewis (Center) accepted the Houston Sports Hall of Fame honor on behalf of his father at the 2021 Houston Sports Awards.

Current members of the 2020-21 University of Houston men's basketball team as well as UH legends honor Guy V. Lewis on stage at the 2021 Houston Sports Awards.

When Lewis recruited African Americans Don Chaney and Elvin Hayes in 1964, he took a Hayes-led team to two Final Fours in the 1960s, and his Cougars grabbed national attention when, in 1968, they beat UCLA 71-69 in the “Game of the Century” – the first nationally-televised regular season college game. He championed the dunk, a staple of his Phi Slama Jama teams led by Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler that went to the 1982, 1983, and 1984 Final Fours.

Lewis, a center/forward on UH’s first team (1945-46), retired in 1986, leaving a Houston Cougars program legacy with 27 straight winning seasons, 14 seasons with 20 or more wins, and 14 trips to the NCAA Tournament. His Houston teams advanced to the Final Four on five occasions (1967, 1968, 1982, 1983, 1984) and twice advanced to the national championship game (1983, 1984).

(L-R) Phi-Slama-Jamma and HCHSA board member Lyndon Rose, Don Cheney, Elvin Hayes, Terry Lewis and UH MBB Head Coach Kelvin Sampson at the 2021 Houston Sports Awards.

Guy V. Lewis passed away on November 26, 2015, at the age of 93.

Watch the introduction of Guy V. Lewis at the 2021 Houston Sports Awards.