I Am Navarro College
I haven’t received a paycheck from Navarro College since 1993—and when I did, it wasn’t much. I was simply thrilled to have a dorm room, a meal card and a Hall of Fame coach to work for while I chased my dream of college basketball.
More than three decades later, I returned to Corsicana for the Navarro College Hall of Fame and realized how profoundly that experience shaped my life. Former players became coaches. Assistant coaches became Division I head coaches. Relationships crossed generations. And an institution I left decades ago still feels like part of who I am.
That is the difference between a transactional organization and a transformational one.
The transaction ended decades ago. The transformation never did.
I am Navarro College.
What One Recruit Taught Me About Preparation, Power and Survival
One recruit produced 39 additional college credit hours, an eight-month NCAA investigation, a $50 bicycle violation and a lesson Terry Waldrop carried into every major professional crisis that followed: always prepare—and always pack a reserve parachute.
How Did a Junior-College Player Earn 39 Credits Before Fall? The NCAA Wanted to Know, Too.
The NCAA investigator saw 39 additional college credits and asked an obvious question: How was that possible? The answer was not a miracle. It was six plus 21 plus six plus six—and every hour was accounted for.
I Gave the NCAA a Bicycle
After eight months of NCAA interviews and investigation, they finally got me. My violation? Transporting a used $50 bicycle so a prospective student-athlete could ride three miles to summer school. I broke the rule—but nearly 30 years later, I still do not believe delivering that bicycle was morally wrong.