“Assembling More Than a Football Program at T.C.U.”
I would like to post this. It is very timely, given all the scandal stuff, also.
Please note this. It is important and true:
In 2009 when Scott was going through his initial trauma of fighting cancer, he wrote a letter to Gary Patterson. Scott thanked him for putting such a good program together, and for doing so without all the controversy and cheating at other schools. He said that watching TCU football was something he looked forward to every week as he went through all this chemo crap.
In the NYT article, AD Del Conte talks about Gary Patterson as “our Joe Paterno or Bear Bryant.” He got that line from Scott. In Scott’s 2009 letter, he told Gary Patterson that he would get all sorts of offers from “name schools” with lots of extra money. But don’t let yourself be trapped by this and turn out like Rich Rodriguez…. you will make more money than you need from TCU, and be able to build something you can be proud of, in a community in which you will want to live.
They will forgive you in bad times, cheer you in good times, and always be there for you if you need emotional help. You will not get this at the big “name” schools. Then Scott said this: “You can be our Joe Paterno or Bear Bryant. Your legacy will live for hundreds of years if you stay at TCU.”
Gary Patterson wrote back to Scott thanking him for his mature insight— he sent a signed hat—“To Scott, You are my hero.”
TCU invited Scott to the Fiesta Bowl. There was a huge list of events scheduled for him. We had tickets, hotel, everything set up. He was going to lead the team out and do the coin toss before the game. But Scott was very weak at the time because of chemo, and could not make the trip.
We were going to go to the 2010 opener against Oregon State instead, but Scott took sick on a relapse, and we had to pass on that also. He never got to meet Gary Patterson, and only saw one live game— the 2009 opener at Virginia.
| FORT WORTH — Gary Patterson wears a whistle. Listen to folks here talk about Patterson, Texas Christian’s football coach, however, and you start to believe he should put on a hard hat and drive an armored truck for all the money he has brought to this oak-lined campus in one of America’s most famous cow towns. While Ohio State Buckeyes and Miami Hurricanes bemoan the decline and fall of the big-time college football civilization, here in Horned Frogs nation, a renaissance is in full bloom.
Its architect, Patterson, is a Kansan who heretofore was known mainly for building impenetrable defenses. His contributions go far beyond last season’s undefeated season, which culminated with T.C.U.’s victory over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl and the No. 2 ranking in the final polls. They are not limited to his players staying out of jail, going to class and graduating in impressive numbers. Patterson and his program are also credited with more than $172 million in construction and renovation of a dozen facilities over the past three years, including four new dormitories, an education building and a student union. His 98-28 record over the past decade is the reason that this year, T.C.U. had nearly 20,000 applicants, about four times the number it had six years ago, for 1,600 slots. |
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