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Former Texas Tech Athletic Director Gerald Myers Up For Texas HOF

By Matthew Conner

Oct 31, 2015; Lubbock, TX, USA; The Will Rogers statue outside Jones AT&T Stadium is wrapped in black to show support for the student body of the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 31, 2015; Lubbock, TX, USA; The Will Rogers statue outside Jones AT&T Stadium is wrapped in black to show support for the student body of the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Former Texas Tech Athletic Director and mens basketball coach Gerald Myers has been nominated for the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.  Here’s why he deserves the honor.

This week, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame release its candidates for induction in 2018 and a big name in Texas Tech history is on the ballot.  Former Athletic Director and mens basketball head coach Gerald Myers is among over 20 candidates under consideration for induction next April.

Myers has been part of the Texas Tech family for over half a century.  The native of Borger, Texas played basketball for the Red Raiders from 1956-59 and after two years away, was with the university in some capacity every year until 2012 with the exception of nine years from 1962-1970.

After five years (1962-66) as the head coach at Monterey High School in Lubbock and four years (1967-70) as the head coach at Houston Baptist, he returned to Texas Tech as an assistant coach.

Myers then took over the Red Raiders during the 1971 season when Bob Bass resigned just 13 games into the season.  He would hold that position until 1991 when he stepped aside to become the assistant athletic director.

Under Gerald Myers, Texas Tech won two Southwest Conference regular season titles (1973, 1985) and three SWC tournament titles (1976, 1985, 1986) and went to the NCAA Tournament four times.  He was also named SWC Coach of the Year on five occasions.  His 326 career wins are a school record.

But it was as athletic director that Gerald Myers had the biggest impact on Texas Tech.  He was promoted to the position in 1996, just as the Big 12 was in its infancy.

More importantly, Myers was faced with the task of guiding Texas Tech through the worst academic scandal in school history.  After 76 student athletes had been allowed to play while academically ineligible, Texas Tech was put on probation for four years beginning in1998.

Numerous programs, including football and basketball lost scholarships and the university had to forfeit substantial revenue which caused the Red Raider athletic department to fall into a tailspin.

But under Myers’ leadership, Texas Tech rebounded in the 2000’s.  Where Myers made his biggest mark was in the fantastic coaches he hired.

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The two most notable were Mike Leach (2000) and Bob Knight (2001).  Leach, who took over for the retired Spike Dykes, ultimately became the Red Raiders winningest football coach.  Meanwhile, Knight went 138-82 in seven seasons.  He took the team to four NCAA Tournaments reaching the Sweet 16 in 2005.

In addition, Myers Hired Wes Kittley to head the Texas Tech track program in 2000.  Kitley has led the men’s program to its only Big 12 title (2014) and has coached 205 all-Americans and 111 Big 12 champions.

However, there are a couple of huge black marks on Gerald Myers’ career.  While he hired arguably the best football and basketball head coaches in Texas Tech history, he also hired two of the worst.

In 2008, Myers promoted Texas Tech assistant Pat Knight to head coach after Knight’s father Bob retired in mid-season.  The younger Knight could not duplicate his father’s success.  He went just 50-61 in four seasons which included a 16-42 Big 12 mark.

In addition, Myers also hired the most unpopular football coach in Red Raider history, Tommy Tuberville.  Following the dismissal of Mike Leach in 2009, Myers tabbed the former Auburn head coach to lead the Red Raiders.

The hiring was an abject disaster. Tuberville never embraced Lubbock or Texas Tech and as a result he was loathed by fans.  He went just 20-17 overall (9-17 in Big 12 play) in three seasons and led Tech to its first losing season in two decades in 2011.

Another miss was when Myers hired Dan Spencer to replace legendary Texas Tech baseball coach Larry Hays in 2009.  Spencer went just 115-112 in four seasons and never took Tech to the NCAA Tournament.

Clearly, Gerald Myers was not perfect as an athletic director.  However, every AD has hits and misses on their ledger.

But through his 50 years as a member of the Texas Tech family, Myers established a legacy that formed a huge portion of the foundation upon which modern day Red Raider athletics is built.  He oversaw the program though its most turbulent period and oversaw Texas Tech’s athletic department as it evolved into nationally respected athletic department in one of the top conferences in the country.

Next: Texas Tech Football: Four Players To Watch In 2017

Few can say that they had success as a player, coach and administrator at one of the largest universities in Texas but Gerald Myers can.  For that, he deserves to be inducted in the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

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