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The NWBA Remembers Dr. Tim Nugent, One Year Later

By NWBA, 11/11/16, 11:45AM CST

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Dr. Timothy Nugent, who is best known as the “Father of Accessibility” and is the founder of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association, passed one year ago. The vision and path that Dr. Nugent paved for person with disabilities will always help guide the direction of the NWBA. He was a life-long ambassador for the sport and a significant player to those with disabilities. 

He created the first comprehensive program of higher education for individuals with disabilities at the University of Illinois and started the Gizz Kids, the original collegiate wheelchair basketball team. Also in 1948, he organized the first National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, and later that year founded the NWBA to provide a year-round structure to wheelchair basketball. 

“Dr. Nugent’s vision for persons with disabilities is a legacy that we are so thankful for, and I and so many others are honored for his vision of inclusion,” said NWBA President Sarah Castle. “Dr. Nugent dedicated his life to helping others and through his life, he created endless opportunities for individuals with disabilities. I am thankful for his dedication and the legacy he created for the NWBA. He touched so many great athletes, coaches, officials and leaders. My life as well as millions of others is richer for all of his contributions.”

The visionary Nugent expanded wheelchair basketball beyond the VA hospitals to bring structure to the sport and create worldwide adoption and acceptance into the Paralympic Games and Parapan Am Games, which has been enjoyed by millions of people. As the first Commissioner of the NWBA, a post he held for 25 years, he modified the rules of the game to make them more similar to able-bodied basketball making it easier for the fans to follow. He was inducted into the Wheelchair Basketball Hall of Fame in 1973. 

The U.S. Men’s and Women’s Teams both returned to the top of the podium at the Rio Paralympics this past summer, a feat that has not happened since 1988. Over a quarter of the 2016 Wheelchair Basketball Paralympic Team played collegiately at the University of Illinois, as well as U.S. Women’s Head Coach Stephanie Wheeler. 

"Being an alumnus of the University of Illinois, he was always around. He was always at home games and he was very approachable,” said Christina Schwab, 2016 U.S. Women’s Team Co-Captain. “He was a living legend. We owe a lot to him. None of us would be here. He was a fighter. He loved the game. As athletes we had the opportunity to be around him as much as possible. He was an amazing man. He was always a presence. At any given day he would show up. I am forever indebted to him."

The impact of Dr. Nugent is special. When you look back at the start of his journey, it was a time in America where paths were being forged for so many other significant moments in our history books. 

“I remember he talked the entire bus ride, telling us stories of what he went through, fighting for people with disabilities years before any of us were born.,” said Steve Serio, 2016 U.S. Men’s Co-Captain. “He traveled all over the country advocating for equal opportunities for disabled individuals. Having been the founder of our league, our sport in America, the one lesson I’ll take away from him is to always continue that fight he started. Getting caught up in wins and losses is not something he ever talked about. He was only concerned with giving us more advantages than his generation had and that it was up to us to continue advocating. I’ll always remember how his message put playing this game into perspective…to see the bigger picture, the bigger fight than winning or losing. I only hope he knew how much he meant to us, our sport, and our continued fight for equality and inclusion."

From a young age, sports played a very important role in his life. Sports helped him get through the Great Depression and it afforded him many opportunities.  He played and coached basketball, and this is where he started to get the inspiration to have the same opportunities for sport regardless of their physical limitations. 

He helped transform the lives of many through the power of adaptive sports, and was involved in the creation of other wheelchair sports including football, track and field, archery, and square dancing. 

    He focused on the ability in disability. Most notably, Nugent was a leader in the development of architectural accessibility standards, public transportation, adaptive equipment, and recreational activities for people with disabilities.  

He served as Professor of Rehabilitation Education and Director of the Rehabilitation Education Center and the Division of Rehabilitation Education Services at the University of Illinois, until retirement in 1985. He founded Delta Sigma Omicron, a national rehabilitations service fraternity. He served as President of the National Paraplegia Foundation (now the National Spinal Cord Injury Association) for four terms. 

The NWBA recognized Dr. Nugent’s lifelong commitment to adaptive sports with the creation of the Dr. Timothy Nugent Person of the Year Award. The first recipient was Dr. Nugent’s family at the 2016 National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, and the NWBA will continue to bestow this honor annually at the NWBT. 

 

“Go as far as you can see, and when you get there, you’ll be surprised by how much you learned along the way and how much further you can see. And then you keep going, keep going.”

-Dr. Timothy Nugent

 

Photo courtesy of the University of Illinois