Charles Martin Newton (February 2, 1930 – June 4, 2018) was an American collegiate basketball player, coach, and athletics administrator.
As a reserve guard/forward, he was part of the Wildcats' national championship team in 1951 under legendary coach Adolph Rupp, though Newton himself averaged only 1.2 points per game.
[4] Newton also guided Alabama to four NIT and two NCAA tournament berths, prompting the school to name a recruiting suite in his honor in 2006.
[citation needed] Just as he did at Transylvania, Newton recruited Alabama's first black player, Wendell Hudson, in 1969, integrating his second team in as many coaching stops.
After only one year as assistant commissioner, Newton became coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores,[4] leading them to a 129–115 mark in eight seasons[6] and berths in the NCAA tournament in 1988 and 1989.
"[citation needed] On March 16, 2015, former long-time commissioner of the Big East, Mike Tranghese, told Chris Russo on Sirius XM radio that Newton is the best chairman that ever served the NCAA.
[citation needed] In 1989, Newton's alma mater, the University of Kentucky, persuaded him to replace athletic director Cliff Hagan and help navigate the stormy waters of an NCAA probation.
The group—consisting of Sean Woods, Deron Feldhaus, Richie Farmer, and John Pelphrey—lost to Duke in overtime of the 1992 NCAA tournament East Regional final, a matchup many consider the greatest college basketball game ever played.
On December 18, 1999, Newton was presented with the Annie Wittenmyer White Ribbon Award by the Women's Christian Temperance Union for refusing to allow alcohol advertising at university sporting events.
It was on Newton's watch that the decision was made to allow professional basketball players to represent the United States in the Summer Olympics.
[16] Newton also served as an assistant coach under Bob Knight for the gold medal-winning 1984 United States men's Olympic basketball team.
As of 2022, Samford has produced 58 Southern Conference championships under Newton's leadership and ranks among the top of all Division I schools in student-athlete graduation rates.
In addition, Martin Newton has followed in his father's footsteps and began a four-year term as a member of the NCAA Division I Basketball Committee on September 1, 2022.