Tepper: Spike Dykes lived a Texas gentleman's dream

I’m not supposed to play favorites. This June, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football will release its 58th annual summer edition of “the bible of Texas football.” As the managing editor, I’m supposed to love all 57 (soon to be 58) covers equally. But I don’t. I have favorites. Of course, 1960 — our inaugural edition, featuring Texas running back Jackie Collins — is on my list. So is 1982, with Texas A&M quarterback Gary Kubiak. A couple others — 1972, 2000, 1975 and 1983 — spring to mind. But without question, the 1990 summer edition of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football always stands out to me. It’s not a complicated cover: just a man standing in his office. The fact that a cover so simple can be so memorable speaks to the man. The subject is Spike Dykes, the coach who had just led Texas Tech to a 9-3 record and an All-American Bowl victory in 1989, the Red Raiders’ best season a decade. On the cover, he’s just standing there in his office overlooking what is now known as Jones AT&T Stadium, his arms crossed, letting out a big guffaw. I’ve long wondered what Spike Dykes is laughing about on the cover of the 1990 summer edition of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football — I was only 4 years old when the cover was shot. Did someone tell him a joke? Was he spinning one of his famous yarns for the gathered crowd? That’s the way that I’ll always remember Dykes, who died Monday at the age 79: a big grin on his face. After all, who ever would’ve guessed that a boy from Ballinger could become one of the most recognized and universally beloved figures in Texas football? Dykes’ Texas football roots ran as deep as the famed honey locust tree on Tech’s campus. A star center at Ballinger, he went on to play at Stephen F. Austin before turning his eyes to coaching. He cut his teeth in the Texas high school football ranks, traveling far and wide across the Lone Star State — from his hometown of Ballinger to the Central Texas power at Belton to the South Texas outpost of Alice. He loved Texas high school football so much that after eight seasons as an assistant at various colleges, he returned to Texas to coach four seasons at Midland Lee. But admittedly, most people don’t remember Spike Dykes as a high school coach. They remember him as the gregarious and warm-hearted coach at Texas Tech, where he served as a defensive coordinator for three seasons before taking over the Red Raiders from 1986 to 1999. Dykes revived a listless Red Raiders program and turned them into a force in the Southwest Conference, winning 82 games in his 13 full seasons and guiding Tech to six bowl games. It’s hard to pick out a crowning achievement for Dykes at Tech — the Red Raiders only won a share of the SWC title once (1994), though Dykes won four conference Coach of the Year awards in his stint in Lubbock. No, instead, Dykes’ beloved status in the Lone Star State came from his charisma and kindness, his gentlemanly Texas charm. Fans and players adored him, and rivals respected him. Spike Dykes was born in Lubbock, grew up in a small West Texas town, traveled the state coaching high school football, came home to coach his hometown college team, became one of the state’s most beloved figures, and then retired to a home in Matagorda Bay. That’s why Spike Dykes is laughing on the cover of the 1990 summer edition of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. He’s laughing because that’s what you do when you’re living your dream.