Photo courtesy of Harvard Athletic Communications

DID YOU KNOW? Tom "Satch" Sanders was the first African-American to serve as a head coach in any sport in Ivy League history.

The call may have been long overdue but it was certainly well-deserved.

Sanders and his influence on the sport of basketball have had a profound effect in countless ways. Finally, in April 2011, his impact received the recognition it deserved with a call from the Hall, more specifically, the call for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Sanders was formally inducted into the Hall as a contributor from the Veteran's Committee in August 2011 among a class of nine other inductees.

The call came decades after Sanders' 13-year career with the Celtics where he averaged 9.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and was a part of eight NBA championship teams. The call came decades after Sanders made Ivy League history in leading Harvard's men's basketball team from 1973-77. While at the Harvard helm for four seasons, Sanders led the Crimson to 40 wins, 27 of which came in League play. Harvard posted 9-5 records in Ivy play in 1973-74 and 1974-75, finishing third in Sanders' second season.

He returned to the NBA with the Celtics in 1977 to serve as an assistant coach to ex-teammate Tom Heinsohn. Shortly thereafter, he took over as the team's head coach during parts of the 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons, becoming just the eighth African-American to hold the title as head coach for an NBA team. But it was after his coaching career that Sanders made his long-lasting impact on basketball and truly on sports at large.

In 1984, when Richard Lapchick launched the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University in Boston, he tapped Sanders to be an associate director. Lapchick saw in Sanders a thoughtful advocate who would work closely with him to address issues impacting athletes of all backgrounds and at all levels.

Sanders did just that and, when the NBA inaugurated the player programs department in 1987, he got the call to return to his native New York City to lead this new department. Transitioning some of his work from the Center, Sanders developed what would become the NBA's Rookie Transition Program. Today, he continues his work as the NBA's Vice President of Player Programs, overseeing several player programs designed to help both veteran and rookie players take advantage of their unique status as professional athletes and to assist them in coping with the special pressures they face. From drug and alcohol awareness to educational and post-NBA employment opportunities, Sanders' work has become the model to build programs to positively affect the well-being of athletes at all levels.

Sanders' impact on basketball and beyond is undeniable. That's why he would not be denied that call to take his rightful place among the all-time hoops greats.