Douglas Adair "Doug" Dickey (born June 24, 1932) is a former American
college footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
player and coach and college athletics administrator. Dickey is a
South DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
native who was raised in
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and graduated from the
University of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, where he played
college footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
. He is best known as the
head coachA head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
of the
University of TennesseeThe University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
and the University of Florida football teams, and afterward, as the
athletic directorAn athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
of the University of Tennessee.
Early life and education
Dickey was born in
Vermillion, South DakotaVermillion is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the tenth largest city in the state. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 10,571. Vermillion lies atop a bluff near the Missouri River.The area has been home to...
in 1932, and grew up in
Gainesville, FloridaGainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where his father was a speech
professorA professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at the University of Florida. After graduating from P.K. Yonge High School in Gainesville, he attended the University of Florida and played
footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
for coach Bob Woodruff's
Florida Gators footballThe Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
team from 1951 to 1953. Dickey was a walk-on who, after being encouraged by assistant football coach
Dave FullerDave Fuller was an American college baseball coach who led the Florida Gators baseball team of the University of Florida for twenty-eight seasons.- Early life and education :...
, tried out for the football team. Dickey began his college career as a
defensive backIn American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
, but remarkably advanced from seventh on the Gators'
quarterbackQuarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
depth chart to starter after
Haywood SullivanHaywood Cooper Sullivan was an American college and professional baseball player who was a catcher, manager, general manager and club owner in Major League Baseball...
's early departure for the
Boston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
left the Gators without a starting quarterback in 1952. As a quarterback, Dickey was not a drop-back passer, but a football-savvy game manager, who Woodruff called "one of the brainiest quarterbacks I ever saw." In January 1953, Dickey led the Gators to a 14–13 win over the
University of TulsaThe University of Tulsa's Golden Hurricane football team represents Tulsa in Conference USA. Tulsa is currently coached by first-year head coach Bill Blankenship. The football team was coached by Todd Graham until he accepted the head coaching job at Pittsburgh....
in the
Gator BowlThe Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
, Florida's first-ever NCAA-sanctioned bowl game.
While a student at Florida, he was also a member of the
Sigma Alpha EpsilonSigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South...
FraternityFraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
(
Florida Upsilon chapter). He graduated with a
bachelor's degreeA bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in
physical educationPhysical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
in 1954.
College football coach and athletic director
After graduating from the University of Florida, Dickey served in the U.S. Army. From 1957 to 1963, he worked as an assistant football coach on the staff of
Frank BroylesJohn Franklin Broyles is a former American football player and coach, athletics administrator, and broadcaster. He served as the head football coach the University of Missouri in 1957 and at the University of Arkansas from 1958 to 1976...
at the
University of ArkansasThe Arkansas Razorbacks football program is a college football team that represents the University of Arkansas. The team is a member of the Southeastern Conference's Western Division, which is in Division I's Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
in
Fayetteville, ArkansasFayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...
.
Dickey was hired as
head coachA head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
at the University of Tennessee in
1964The 1964 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1964 college football season. The Volunteers offense scored 80 points while the defense allowed 121 points...
by
athletic directorAn athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
Bob Woodruff, Dickey's head coach during his playing years at Florida. Many supporters of
Tennessee Volunteers footballThe Tennessee Volunteers football team are an American college football team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville . The NCAA Division I team is also a member of the Southeastern Conference ....
credit Dickey with rejuvenating the program. When Dickey was hired, the Volunteers had not won more than six games in a season, nor been to a bowl game, in the seven years since
1957The 1956 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1956 college football season. The Volunteers offense scored 275 points while the defense allowed 88 points. Bowden Wyatt was the team's head coach and led the club to an appearance in the Sugar...
. Dickey was recognized as
Southeastern ConferenceThe Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC) Coach of the Year in 1965 and
1967The 1967 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1967 college football season. The Volunteers offense scored 283 points while the defense allowed 141 points. Led by head coach Doug Dickey, the Volunteers won the Southeastern Conference and competed in the...
, and his Tennessee teams won SEC Championships in 1967 and
1969The 1969 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1969 college football season. The Volunteers offense scored 328 points while the defense allowed 179 points. Led by head coach Doug Dickey, the Volunteers competed in the...
. In his six seasons as Tennessee's head coach, his overall win-loss record at Tennessee was 46–15–4 (.738), and the Volunteers received five back-to-back bowl invitations.
Dickey is credited with starting three Tennessee football traditions that endure today. He placed the iconic "Power T" decal on the sides of the Volunteers'
helmetsA football helmet is a protective device used primarily in American football and Canadian football. It consists of a hard plastic top with thick padding on the inside, a face mask made of one or more plastic bars, and a chinstrap. Some players add polycarbonate visors to their helmets, which are...
, had the
Neyland StadiumNeyland Stadium is a sports stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It serves primarily as the home of the Tennessee Volunteers football team, but is also used to host large conventions and has been a site for several NFL exhibition games. The stadium's official capacity is 102,455...
endzones painted in an orange-and-white checkerboard pattern, and originated the Pride of the Southland marching band's "T" formation through which Volunteer players enter the field. Dickey was also responsible for integrating the previously all-white Volunteers, by recruiting running back Albert Davis, the first African-American who was offered a scholarship to play for the Vols, but the university did not admit Davis. Undeterred, Dickey recruited wide receiver Lester McClain, who was admitted and became the first black Volunteer football player.
In 1969, the Volunteers clinched their second SEC championship and were invited to play Florida in the
Gator BowlThe Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
. Rumors swirled that Dickey was planning to return to his
alma materAlma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
, and replace retiring
Ray GravesSamuel Ray Graves is a former American college and professional football player and former college football coach. He is a native of Tennessee and an alumnus of the University of Tennessee, where he played college football...
as head coach. Tennessee lost the game 14–13, and Dickey left for Gainesville.
Dickey became the head football coach at the University of Florida in 1970. In his nine seasons as the Florida coach, Dickey led the Gators to four bowl appearances, and an overall record of 58–43–2 (.573). Notably, Dickey gave the Gators' former Heisman-winning quarterback
Steve SpurrierStephen Orr Spurrier is an American college football coach and player. Spurrier is the current head coach of the University of South Carolina's Gamecocks football team. He is also a former professional player and coach...
his first coaching job, as the Gators quarterbacks coach, in 1978. Although Dickey became the third all-time winningest coach at Florida, he did not achieve the same level of success at Florida that he had at Tennessee, and was replaced by
Charley PellCharles Byron "Charley" Pell was an American college football player and coach. Pell was an Alabama native and an alumnus of the University of Alabama, where he played college football. He is most notably remembered as the head coach of the Clemson University and the University of Florida...
after a 4–7 season in 1978.
Dickey ended his college coaching career with an overall record of 104–58–6 (.637).
Dickey returned to the University of Tennessee, where he served as the Tennessee Volunteers athletic director from 1985 through 2002, leading one of the premiere inter-collegiate athletic programs in the nation. His time as athletic director was notable for the successful improvement and expansion of the university's athletic facilities. Neyland Stadium was expanded to more than 100,000 seats, and other additions included the Thompson–Boling Assembly Center and Arena, the Lindsey Nelson Baseball Stadium, the Goodfriend Tennis Center, executive suites at Neyland Stadium, the Neyland–Thompson Football Complex, and the Thornton Athletics Student Life Center. Dickey also had the unusual experience of watching his son,
Daryl Dickey-External links:*...
, become the first-string quarterback of the Volunteers in the middle of the 1985 season and leading them to a 35–7 win over the
Miami HurricanesThe Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...
in the
Sugar BowlThe Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009...
.
Honors
Dickey was honored as "Tennessean of the Year" by the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. He is also the recipient of the
National Football FoundationThe National Football Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1947 by General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army Black Knights football coach Earl "Red" Blaik and journalist Grantland Rice...
's John Toner Award recognizing his abilities as a sports administrator, and the Robert Neyland Memorial Trophy recognizing his contributions to college football, and is a member of the Gator Bowl Hall of Fame, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and the Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame, and was recognized as a "Distinguished Letter Winner" by the
University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame. After retiring in 2002, he was elected to the
College Football Hall of FameThe College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
as a coach in 2003.
Head coaching record
See also
- Florida Gators
The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- Florida–Tennessee football rivalry
- Florida Gators football, 1950–1959
- Florida Gators football, 1970–1979
- History of the University of Florida
The history of the University of Florida is firmly tied to the history of public education in the state of Florida. The University of Florida, colloquially known as "Florida" or "UF," originated as several distinct institutions that were merged to create a single state-supported university by the...
- List of College Football Hall of Fame inductees (coaches)
- List of Florida Gators head football coaches
- List of SEC Coaches of the Year
- List of Sigma Alpha Epsilon members
- List of University of Florida alumni
- Tennessee Volunteers
The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the National Collegiate Athletic Association college sports teams at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. Mike Hamilton is the most recent Men's Athletic Director, but resigned on June 7, 2011, and Joan Cronan is the current Women's...
- University Athletic Association
The University Athletic Association, Inc. is a non-profit corporation that is responsible for maintaining the Florida Gators intercollegiate sports program of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida...
External links