Friday • December 1, 1995
swc.
Page 1 IB • The Battalion
Tech matures into a threat
By Lisa Nance
The Battalion
If it’s lonely at the top, then the Aggies and
the Longhorns are in luck.
In a conference where Texas A&M and Texas
have dominated football in the 1990s, Texas Tech
has stepped up and proven that while two may be
company, three is definitely a crowd.
With Head Coach Spike Dykes at the helm of
the Tech team, the Red Raiders have finished in
the upper division of the SWC in each of his eight
seasons, including one-fifth of the championship
last season and runner-up finishes in 1991-1993.
Tech Athletic Director Bob Bockrath said that
Dykes has done an impressive job of coaching the
Red Raider team and bringing the program to a
new level.
“He’s done a great job, almost an incredible
job of raising the performance level of this foot
ball team,” Bockrath said.
Dykes came to Texas Tech in 1983 as the de
fensive coordinator. He made an immediate im
pact, helping the Red Raiders to a top 20 nation
al ranking in total defense in 1984.
Dykes accepted the head coaching position in
December, 1986 when David McWilliams left.
Ironically, Dykes’ first college head coaching op
portunity came in the town in which he was born.
In his new position as head coach, Dykes had
only two weeks to prepare his team for its Inde
pendence Bowl battle against Mississippi, a game
which the Raiders lost 20-17.
Three years later, Dykes had taken the Red
Raider program to unparalleled heights.
In 1989, his team finished No. 19 in the nation
and beat four nationally-ranked teams along the
way. Dykes was named SWC Coach of the Year
and registered the school’s most lopsided bowl
victory ever, a 49-21 smashing of Duke in the All-
American Bowl.
Bockrath said the Red Raiders’ sudden turn
around was due in large part to Dykes’ powerful
personality and style.
“His roots are in West Texas and a big charac
teristic of West Texans is how they feel about one
another,” Bockrath. “Coach Dykes personifies
that type of person. He’s a very warm, genuine,
no nonsense type of person.”
As dean of SWC coaches, Dykes has built a
reputation as one of the game’s straight shooters.
He has elevated the Tech football program to the
level of title contender. His priorities start and
end with people — everything else is secondary.
Dykes just sees it all a justification for coaching.
“I think you coach because you love kids.”
Dykes said, “If you coach for any other reason,
then you’re doing it for the wrong reason.”
Dykes incorporates his West Texas charm and
attitudes into his coaching and he adds an em-
Texas Tech Uni
First year in league: I960
SWC Record: 125-137-6
All-Time Record: 399-330-32
Championships: 1976, 1994
All-time coacn: Spike Dykes: SWC: 33-25-
time: 47-44-1
Top 5 Players:
1. Bam Morris, Running Back
2. Tracey Saul, Safety
3. Billy joe Tolliver,
Quarterback
4. Lloyd Hill, Wide
Receiver
5. Zach Thomas,
Linebacker
All-
Top 5 Games:
1. Nov 18, 1994:
Tech 34, UH 0: Tech
clinches its first
Cotton Bowl berth
2. Nov 23, 1976: Tech 24, Baylor 21: Tech wins
its first SWC title
3. Oct 7, 1995: Tech 14, A&M 7: Zach Thomas'
interception beats the No. 9 Aggies
4. Dec 1, 1988:Ok.State 45, Tech 42: Billy Joe
Tolliver 443 yards
5. Nov 19, 1973: Tech 24, Arkansas 1 7 at Little
Rock, First win ever at Little Rock
Photo Courtesy of Texas Tech SID
Texas Tech's Spike Dykes is doused with Gatorade
following the Red Raiders' 31-22 upset of UT In 1993.
phasis on academics.
“I think that the great thing that football
teaches is that it’s a team sport and everybody
can’t be chairman of the board,” Dykes said.
“There can only be one quarterback, one star,
but everybody has got a big part in it.”
Before going to Tech, Dykes had a coaching
stint at another SWC school. UT’s Darrell Royal
noticed Dykes’ talents as a high school coach
and brought him to Austin in 1972, where he
stayed for five seasons.
In his almost 15 years as a coach in the SWC,
Dykes has seen players come and go in, but he
has a hard time narrowing down the greats.
“There have been so many, it’s hard to pick a
few.” Dykes said.
“We’ve had so many great players in this con
ference and so many great people, I don’t know
how you could single them out.”
Tech football has produced a number of SWC
greats including tailback Byron “Bam” Morris,
who brought national attention to Tech in 1993
when he was selected as the Doak Walker
Award winner for being the nation’s best run
ning back.
The Red Raiders approach a whole new era
when they join Texas A&M, Texas and Baylor
in forming the Big 12 Conference in 1996.
Although Dykes said he is excited about the
move, he’s a bit sentimental about the demise of
S\YC football.
“I’ve got great, fond memories of the SWC,”
Dykes said, “I grew up in Texas so college foot
ball has always been the Southwest Conference
to me. We felt like it belonged to all of us. It’s
been a lot of exciting Saturday afternoons.”
Bockrath looks at the Big 12 as a great op
portunity for all Texas schools involved in the
move to showcase their talents.
“I’m excited about the move to the Big 12.”
Bockrath said. “It will be a great opportunity
for Tech and the three other schools who were
lucky enough to move. The move represents a
great opportunity for all of the schools to show
case their programs in a larger geographical
area than in the past and I’m really looking for
ward to it.”
As the clock ticks down the final seconds of the
SWC football finale at Kyle Field Saturday, an
era of great football will come to a close. But with
that door shut, a window opens that will lead
Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Texas and Baylor into a
new conference and an era of new beginnings.
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