Spike Dykes


William Taylor "Spike" Dykes was an American football coach. A high school and college football coach throughout his career, he last served as head coach at Texas Tech from 1986 to 1999.

Coaching career

Early years

Born in Lubbock, Texas and raised in Ballinger, William Taylor "Spike" Dykes graduated from Ballinger High School in 1955 and Stephen F. Austin State University in 1959. At Stephen F. Austin, Dykes played center on the Lumberjacks football team. Upon graduation, he served in several high school head and assistant coaching positions, including a stint as defensive coordinator under Emory Bellard at San Angelo Central High School in San Angelo, Texas. In 1972, Dykes became an assistant coach at the University of Texas. He filled assistant roles at two other universities before returning to the high school level to coach at Midland Lee from 1980 to 1983.

Texas Tech

Dykes moved to Texas Tech in 1984, serving as defensive coordinator under Jerry Moore and David McWilliams. When McWilliams left for Texas after the 1986 season, Dykes was named his successor. He was the first coach in school history to lead the team to seven straight bowl-eligible seasons and to coach the team in seven bowl games.
Dykes was the school's first coach to defeat the Texas Longhorns in six different seasons. He earned three Southwest Conference and one Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year honors. His record at Tech stands at 82–67–1. On November 20, 1999, Dykes retired after 13 seasons as head coach. His 82 wins were the most in school history until his successor, Mike Leach, passed him in 2009.

Post-coaching life

Dykes moved to Horseshoe Bay, Texas after retiring from coaching and also bought a house at Matagorda Bay.
On March 11, 2008, Dykes was inducted in the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

Head coaching record

College

One of Dykes' two sons—Daniel, aka Sonny Dykes—is also a college football coach, currently at SMU. The younger Dykes was hired to be the head coach of the California Golden Bears on December 5, 2012. On January 8, 2017, California fired Dykes. He spent the previous 3 seasons as the head coach at Louisiana Tech, guiding the Bulldogs to a 22-15 record over that span.
Dykes' other son, Rick, spent many years as an assistant football coach at Texas Tech, including a stint as Offensive Coordinator. Rick is a partner of the Reagor Dykes Auto Group currently being sued by Ford Motor Co. in what is being reported as possibly the biggest case of auto fraud in the US.
Dykes also had a daughter, Bebe.
Dykes died on April 10, 2017, in Horseshoe Bay, Texas, at age 79.