NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas Chapter Announces 2023 Major Award Winners
Dykes, Mathis, and Buchanan headline local football leaders to be honored during chapter’s annual Awards Banquet on March 19
DALLAS, Texas (Mar. 15, 2023) – The National Football Foundation (NFF) Gridiron Club of Dallas Chapter announced today the 2023 major award winners who will be honored during the chapter's 14th Annual Awards Banquet this Sunday, March 19, at 6 p.m. CT.
The 2023 major award winners include:
Sonny Dykes, TCU head football coach – Distinguished Texan Award
Tim Buchanan, Legendary football coach and athletic director who led the programs at Florence, Killeen Ellison, The Colony, A&M Consolidated, and Aledo high schools – Legends Award
Claude Mathis, DeSoto High School head football coach – High School Coach of the Year
Bill Jones, sportscaster for KTVT (CBS11) – Media Person of the Year
Stan Sharp – Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football
The awardees will be honored alongside the high school scholar-athletes who will be announced tomorrow.
"All of our 2023 honorees have built tremendous careers geared toward making football in North Texas great," said NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas Chapter president Gerald Brence, a member of the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor and current assistant football coach at McKinney Christian Academy. "They have all enjoyed considerable success, and it is our pleasure to recognize each of their efforts in enhancing the Future For Football."
The event will showcase the great stories in North Texas that will inspire future student-athletes to excel in the classroom and become more involved in their communities. The event also provides a key platform for recognizing the contributions of the football leaders in the region who have placed North Texas football among the best in the nation. This year's honorees have been selected for their outstanding accomplishments and lasting community impact.
2023 NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas Major Award Winner Bios
Distinguished Texan Award – Sonny Dykes
Head TCU football coach Sonny Dykes is the recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Texan Award, the chapter’s most prestigious award. Dykes graduated from Lubbock Coronado High School and played first base at Texas Tech where he was a 3-year letterman in baseball. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Texas Tech University in 1993 and his master’s degree from the University of Kentucky in 1999. Dykes started his football coaching career in 1994 at J.J. Pearce High in Richardson, Texas. He began coaching at the college level in 1995 at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, as the running backs coach. From there, he continued to serve in various assistant coaching roles at Northeast Louisiana University, University of Kentucky, Texas Tech University, and the University of Arizona.
In 2010, Dykes became the head coach at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana, and achieved success very quickly being honored as the 2011 WAC Coach of the Year. Dykes accepted the head football coach position at University of California, Berkeley, to start the 2013 season. He returned to Texas in 2018 as the new head football coach at Southern Methodist University leading the Mustangs in 2019 to their first 10-win season since 1984 and earned their highest national ranking (14) since 1985. H His .625 winning percentage ranked fourth in program history for head coaches of more than two seasons.
Dykes was announced as the new head football coach of Texas Christian University on November 29, 2021. In his first season at TCU, Dykes led the Horned Frogs to a 12–1 record and the team's first ever College Football Playoff appearance. On December 31, 2022, he led the Horned Frogs to their first-ever CFP win in program history beating the University of Michigan 51-45 in the Fiesta Bowl and took his team to the National Championship game earlier this year. Dykes has a career head coaching record of 84-65, and he lives in Fort Worth with his wife, Kate, and their three children.
Legends Award – Tim Buchanan
Tim Buchanan, one of the most decorated high school football coaches in Texas, is being honored with the Legends Award. Buchanan graduated from Killeen High School and went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Southwest Texas State and his master’s degree from Texas A&M University. His 40+ years of coaching began with stops at Florence, Killeen Ellison, The Colony, and A&M Consolidated high schools. He became the head football coach and athletics director at Aledo High School in April of 1993. With 25 years as head coach, his teams combined for a 281-58-3 record including 8 state championships as the head coach and a part of 17 state championships as athletic director. Buchanan has been named “coach of the year” numerous times by various organizations numerous times and will be inducted into the Texas High School Coaches Assn Hall of Honor this summer. Buchanan’s wife, Rebecca, is an instructional coach in the White Settlement ISD, and the couple have two children that graduated from Aledo High School.
High School Coach of the Year – Claude Mathis (DeSoto High School)
Mathis was a 4-year letterman as a starting running back at Texas State University and was named the Southland Conference’s all-time leading rusher. While in college, Mathis earned All-Conference and All-American honors four times, 1994 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, 1996 Southland Football League Player of the Year, and named as the Texas State University’s Offensive Player of the Year in both 1996 and 1997. He still holds the Bobcat’s all-time records for Career Rushing Yards (4,964), Single Season Rushing Yards (1,595), Single Game (310), Career Rushing TDs (45), and Single Season Rushing TDs (16). Mathis also played in the Hula Bowl and drafted by the Minnesota Vikings. His performance on the field was matched by maintaining a high GPA at TSU including making the Dean’s list twice. Mathis graduated in 1998 with a degree in Exercise and Sports Science. He has coached at Anderson, Somerville and LBJ high schools before joining DeSoto High School. Mathis has been named “coach of the year” numerous times and led DeSoto High School to the Texas State Championship this past season. In addition, Mathis is widely known for his community and church service.
Sports Media Person of the Year – Bill Jones
Bill Jones grew up in Irving and graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a BA in Journalism (Radio/TV/Film). He has spent his entire sportscasting career in the state of Texas beginning in Lubbock at KMOC and KAMZ stations, moved to KXAS Dallas in 1990, and was the television play-by-play announcer for the Texas Rangers from 1997-2001. In 2006, he joined CBS 11 where he has performed numerous duties including sports anchor, television show host, and play-by-play announcer for the Dallas Cowboys. Jones lives in Southlake with his wife, Stacy. They have three daughters and three grandchildren.
Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football – Stan Sharp
Stan Sharp graduated from Dallas Hillcrest High School in 1970 and studied at Dallas Baptist University, Baylor University, and Southern Methodist University. Sharp worked for Fidelity Life Union Life Insurance, spending time in San Marcos and Boston before returning to the Dallas area in 2010. Sharp is passionate about giving back through his philanthropic efforts with the Salvation Army and numerous other organizations in the Dallas-Fort Worth community.
About NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas
Founded in 2008, the NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas (www.nffdallas.org) is one of 120 nationwide chapters of the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame (www.footballfoundation.org). The NFF is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. NFF programs include Future For Football, the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, The William V. Campbell Trophy®, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class presented by Fidelity Investments and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future.
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Media Contact
Gary Peek
gpeek@nffdallas.org