The UK legend has been a fixture in Mark Pope's practices this summer and fall, and he talks to Inside Kentucky Basketball about his thoughts on these Wildcats.
Cliff Hagan, one of the most celebrated Kentucky basketball players in the program’s history, died Thursday.
Hagan was 94 years old.
A 1978 inductee to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and a member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, the Owensboro native scored 1,475 points and grabbed 1,035 rebounds in his three varsity seasons as a Wildcat.
Hagan was a consensus first-team All-American in each of his final two seasons at Kentucky, and the Cats amassed an 86-5 record over his three years playing for the program, including a national championship in 1951.
In his final season, the 1953-54 campaign, UK finished with a 25-0 record but declined a bid to the NCAA Tournament due to the stipulation that graduate students would not be allowed to compete in the event. Hagan and two of his teammates had graduated from the university in 1953, but UK did not field a team that season due to penalties stemming from a point-shaving scandal that had occurred a few years earlier.
Hagan went on to an illustrious professional career, winning the NBA championship in 1958 with the St. Louis Hawks and being named an All-Star five times over the course of his 10 seasons in the league, all spent with the Hawks.
He delayed his professional career by two years while serving in the United States Air Force and retired at age 34 before returning to the game and playing three seasons for the Dallas Chaparrals in the ABA.
The news of Hagan’s death Thursday was first reported by Cats’ Pause founder Oscar Combs. “A dear friend, Cliff was a great influence on my career and a vocal supporter of The Cats’ Pause when it was launched in 1976,” Combs posted on X.
Hagan was also a UK Hall of Fame inductee and served as the school’s athletic director from 1975-88. His No. 6 jersey is retired to the Rupp Arena rafters. Before moving to Kentucky Proud Park in 2019, the UK baseball team played its games in Cliff Hagan Stadium.
"Cliff was a Kentucky legend and a great friend to all of us," UK coach Mark Pope said in a statement Friday morning. "His legacy is forever imprinted in the annals of Kentucky basketball and the rafters of Rupp Arena. We will miss him dearly. Praying for his family."
UK issued a release Friday afternoon acknowledging Hagan's death.
"Few people have impacted Kentucky Athletics in as many ways as Cliff Hagan,” UK athletics director J Batt said in a statement. "He represented Kentucky as a champion, Hall of Famer and Athletics Director, leaving a legacy that continues to shape this department. It is an honor to follow in his footsteps and to help carry forward the standard he set. Big Blue Nation will always be grateful for Cliff and all he gave to Kentucky. Our thoughts are with the Hagan family."
Ben Roberts launched Inside Kentucky Basketball in 2026 to bring a source of independent and objective coverage of the Cats to UK fans. He spent 20 years at the Lexington Herald-Leader, including four seasons as UK men's basketball beat writer.
