Spike Dykes Led Texas Tech Football Into The Modern Era

Today, legendary Texas Tech head football coach Spike Dykes died at the age of 79. He will be remembered for his colorful personality and as the coach that brought Texas Tech football from relative obscurity to a legitimate national program.

The Texas Tech football program has lost a legend with the passing of former head coach Spike Dykes. Leading the Red Raiders from 1986-1999, he left as the school’s all-time leader in wins with 82. To this day that total ranks second only to Mike Leach’s 84.

The Lubbock native was a three-time Southwest Conference Coach of the Year and was honored as the 1996 Big 12 Coach of the Year. In the wake of his passing, many are likely to focus on Dykes’ colorful personality which endeared him to the Texas Tech fan base like no other coach in school history.

But his most important legacy will be that of the man who led Texas Tech into the modern era of college football.

In the eight seasons prior to Dykes first campaign, Texas Tech had a winning record just once. But in his first season, Dykes took the Red Raiders to a 6-4-1 mark. Moreover, he would have winning seasons in 10 of his 13 years on the job. Only once did he fail to post at least a .500 record in conference play.

As the first coach to take the Red Raiders to seven bowl games, Spike Dykes elevated the expectation of the program. For decades, Tech had seemed content to simply be part of the mighty Southwest Conference but under Dykes the Red Raiders began to believe they were capable of being a factor in the conference on a yearly basis.

This change in perception can be largely attributed to Spike Dykes’ success against Texas Tech’s two most hated rivals. In 13 seasons, his teams defeated Texas and Texas A&M six times apiece.

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After long feeling like an afterthought in Texas, having regular success against the two most high-profile teams in the state was a huge step forward for the Red Raiders. More importantly, had Dykes not been able to elevate the status of the Texas Tech football program when he did, the fate of Red Raider football could have been dramatically different.

In 1994 the Big 12 conference was formed and the competition among the Southwest Conference schools other than Texas and Texas A&M (which were virtual locks to be invited to the new league) to be included had been fierce. At that time, Spike Dykes had led Tech to four consecutive second place finishes in the SWC strengthening the school’s case for inclusion into the Big 12.

Schools like Houston, TCU, SMU and Rice all coveted a place in the Big 12 but were left out. Each of those schools languished in obscurity for a decade or more after being excluded from the highest level of college football.

Meanwhile, Texas Tech benefited from the national exposure as well as the monetary benefits of being in the Big 12. The huge money payouts are largely responsible for the hundreds of millions of dollars in athletic facility renovations Texas Tech has undergone in the past twenty years.

Certainly, political factors helped the Red Raiders make the cut for the Big 12 but so did Dykes. Had he not been able to transform Texas Tech from a doormat into a respected contender, the past two decades could have been spent watching Tech battle Wyoming, Air Force and New Mexico in the Mountain West Conference.

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Other Texas Tech coaches have had more success on a national level and had higher winning percentages than Spyke Dykes but the argument can be made that few, if any, have had a greater impact on the legacy of Red Raider football. But regardless of how the history books paint the West Texas legend, it is safe to say that Texas Tech fans will forever appreciate what Spike Dykes did for Texas Tech football.

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