Buster Brannon (1908-1979)
Teams coached: Rice Owls, TCU Horned Frogs
Rice record: 85-37 (.697)
TCU record: 204-259 (.441)
Overall record: 289-296 (.494)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 5 (1940, 1942, 1952, 1953, 1959)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 2 (1953, 1959)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
- Southwest Regular Season Champion: 6 (1940, 1942, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1959)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
1948-1967 | TCU |
1945-1946 | Rice |
1938-1942 | Rice |
Buster Brannon Facts
- Byron Scott Brannon
- Born October 21, 1908
- Died April 14, 1979
- Hometown: Pine Bluff, Arkansas
- Alma Mater: Texas Christian University (BA, 1933)
- At TCU, Brannon played both football (QB) and basketball (guard) for dual head coach Francis Schmidt
- Spent seven total seasons (interrupted by WWII) as the head coach at Rice in Houston, TX
- Was 85-37 overall, winning the Southwest title and going to the NCAA Tournament twice each (1940 & 1942)
- Went just 10-11 (5-7 SWC) in 1945-46 after the war and left the school following that season
- Was an assistant football coach at Florida for two seasons, working under head coach (and fellow TCU alum) Raymond Wolf
- Returned to his alma mater in 1948, spending the next 19 seasons as the Horned Frogs’ head basketball coach
- After going just 4-20 in his first season, the Frogs won three straight Southwest titles in 1951, 1952 and 1953
- Compiled a 204-259 record at the helm, winning a total of four Southwest titles and going to three NCAA Tournaments
- Became the second head coach to win multiple SWC titles at two different schools (after his old coach, Schmidt)
- Also served as an assistant coach with the football program for six seasons under Hall of Fame coach Dutch Meyer
- Member of the Texas Sports HOF, Texas HS Basketball HOF, TCU Lettermen’s Association HOF and Southwest Conference HOF
- Died of a heart attack in 1979 at the age of 70; Brannon was survived by his wife, Lynn, and their son, Robert
Buster Brannon Coaching Tree
- Buddy Ball (Eastern New Mexico)
- Joe Davis (Rice)
- Johnny Swaim (TCU)