KALAMAZOO, Mich.  –  Known as one of Western Michigan's greatest basketball players and student athletes, Dr. Emanuel "Manny" Newsome will be honored before the Saturday, January 27 WMU men's basketball game against Northern Illinois at an indoor tailgate at the Student Recreation Center on WMU's campus

Newsome will also be recognized during a special halftime ceremony in which his No.5 jersey will be formally retired. Newsome, a basketball legend from Roosevelt High School in Gary, Ind., later became the first African American administrator at WMU and led a storied career in higher education in Indiana, Ohio and Florida.

As a player at WMU from 1960-64, Newsome averaged 32.7 points per game as a three-year varsity player. Newsome finished his career at WMU with 1,787 points and at the time broke the scoring record by over 500 points in 1964. During part of his senior year, he was also the nation's leading scorer.

Some of Newsome's achievements include being a three-time First Team All-Mid-American Conference member while also being named to the "All-America" Basketball team in 1963-64 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. In 1964, Newsome was a member of the U.S. Olympic Trials Basketball team.

Newsome was inducted into the WMU Hall of Fame in 1974, MAC Hall of Fame in 1988 and Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994.

Newsome received his bachelor's degree in 1964 in Physical Education & Speech and master's degree in Physical Education in 1965, both from WMU. Newsome's professional career began at WMU in 1964-1965 in the Office of Financial Aid as a Financial Aid Counselor and Field Representative. He then served as the Director of the State Talent Search Program for the State Scholarship Commission in Indianapolis.

He later served as Assistant Dean of Students at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind. and went on to earn his Ph.D. in Counseling & Psychological Services in Higher Education from ISU in 1976. Newsome completed Post-Doctoral Studies at Harvard University and received a certificate in Management and Development in Higher Education.

Newsome served as Dean of Students at the University of Toledo, and Vice President of Student Affairs at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL from 1988-2006. Newsome resides in Boca Raton, FL with his wife Nellie, a former WMU student.
Members of the community are invited to celebrate Newsome's basketball career from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Stampede Tailgate, and to attend the game at 2:00 p.m. against the Huskies of Northern Illinois.  Pre-registration is required for the tailgate, and details, along with early-bird pricing and game ticket information, can be found at mywmu.com/bbstampede. Game tickets may be purchased from the WMU Ticket Office by calling 1-888-4-WMU-TIX.