The Frogs
Buster Brannon, a former TCU player under Francis Scmidt, led Horned Frogs basketball for nearly two decades, from 1948 through 1967. Brannon amassed a 205–259 (104–144 SWC) record over 19 seasons and led the Frogs to four Southwest Conference championships in 1951, 1952, 1953 and 1959, and the program's first three NCAA Tournament appearances in 1952, 1953 and 1959. Brannon's recorded faded in the 1960s, when the Frogs finished near the bottom of the league almost every year until Brannon's retirement from coaching in 1967. The Brannon era saw the opening of Daniel–Meyer Coliseum (now Schollmaier Arena) in 1961. Johnny Swaim, a former player for Brannon, coached the Frogs from 1967 through 1977. Swaim led the Frogs to Southwest Conference titles and the NCAA Tournament in 1967, his first season at the helm, and in 1971. The Frogs' 1967 NCAA Tournament appearance saw the Frogs' first-ever Tournament win and the program's only appearance in what is now known as the Elite Eight. Swaim abruptly retired from coaching after the 1977 season, remaining in Fort Worth as a businessman until his death in 1995. After Swaim's retirement, Tim Somerville led the Frogs for the following two seasons, notching only a 10–43 (3–29 SWC) record.