Sonny Dykes, greeted with a standing ovation, invites TCU fans to football practices
TCU fans greeted new football coach Sonny Dykes with a standing ovation on Saturday afternoon.
Dykes was introduced at halftime of the men’s basketball game against Oklahoma at Schollmaier Arena. It didn’t have the theatrics of his initial entrance in late November when he arrived on campus via helicopter, but Dykes reiterated his excitement in taking over the program.
“Thank you for your support,” Dykes told the crowd. “Can’t wait to get started. I can’t wait for the future. Again, I can’t tell you how excited I am.”
Dykes, who spent the 2017 season as an offensive analyst at TCU, went on to invite the fans to watch practices. Dykes told the Star-Telegram last month that he’s always felt opening up practices is the right thing to do. He doesn’t feel there’s a competitive disadvantage and believes the program will be seen in a positive way from how the players and coaches conduct themselves.
TCU is scheduled to start spring practices on March 22. The spring game is set for Friday, April 22, at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Dykes joins TCU after spending the past four seasons at SMU. He went 30-18 at SMU after previous stops at Cal and Louisiana Tech. Dykes has a career record of 71-63.
Dykes is following in the footsteps of longtime TCU coach Gary Patterson. Patterson and the university parted ways on Oct. 31. Patterson is the school’s all-time winningest coach, going 181-79 over 21 seasons.
TCU opens the 2022 season at Colorado on Friday, Sept. 2.
This story was originally published January 15, 2022 at 4:30 PM.
