Step.- A celebration of life for Texas Western College (TWC), now UTEP, basketball legend and El Paso icon Willie Cager is scheduled for 7 pm on Friday, April 14 at the Don Haskins Center. The event is free and open to the public.
Cager’s family, friends and teammates will share their memories of a life well lived at the event.
Cager died on March 19, 2023, the 57th anniversary of TWC’s historic victory over Kentucky in the 1966 men’s national basketball championship. He was 81 years old when he died.
Cager appeared in 77 games for the Miners between 1964 and 1968, averaging 8.5 points and 5.3 rebounds under Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins. He had eight points and six rebounds in TWC’s win over the Wildcats. The Miners made history by becoming the first team to start five black players in the title game.
Originally from the Bronx, New York, Cager stayed in El Paso after playing for the Miners, becoming a fixture in the community as well as a frequent supporter at local UTEP men’s and women’s basketball games.
The University of Texas at El Paso is the leading Hispanic university in the United States. Located in the far west of Texas, where three states and two countries meet along the Rio Grande River, 84% of our 24,000 students are Hispanic and half are the first in their families to go to college. UTEP offers 169 bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs at the only top-tier open access research university in the United States.
