Former Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes died Monday at the age of 79, a school spokesperson has confirmed.
Dykes served as head coach of the Red Raiders from 1986 to 1999 and led the program to seven bowl games while going 82-67-1. He earned Coach of the Year honors three times in the Southwest Conference and in the Big 12's inaugural season in 1996.
"A lot of people in this world don't have any fun, but I've had a ball," Dykes said when he retired in 1999.
"Red Raider Nation mourns the loss of legendary head coach Spike Dykes," Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt said in a statement. "Anyone who met Spike quickly learned how much he loved West Texas and most importantly, Texas Tech. The legacy he left at Texas Tech will be remembered forever."
The native of West Texas coached at eight different Texas high schools over the course of his 41-year career. He entered the college ranks in 1972 as an assistant at Texas under Darrell Royal. After assistant stints at New Mexico and Mississippi State, Dykes returned to coaching high school football at Midland Lee from 1980 to '83 before joining the Red Raiders' staff as defensive coordinator in 1984.
When Dykes was elevated to head coach in 1986, the program had just one winning season in its previous eight years. He led Texas Tech to a school-record four consecutive bowl games, including the 1995 Cotton Bowl against USC. During his tenure, Texas Tech pulled off six victories against Texas and six more against Texas A&M.
Current Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury was recruited by Dykes and was the starting quarterback in Dykes' final game coaching the Red Raiders.
"Words cannot describe what Coach Dykes meant to West Texas, Texas Tech University, this program and me, personally," Kingsbury said in a statement. "He was a great coach and an even better person. He will forever be remembered as one of the all-time greatest Red Raiders."
Dykes was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. He was the Red Raiders' all-time winningest head coach before Mike Leach broke the record in 2009.
Both of Dykes' sons followed him into the coaching business. Sonny Dykes was recently the head coach at Cal from 2013 to 2016 and is now an offensive analyst on the TCU coaching staff. Rick Dykes was an offensive coordinator at Texas Tech under his father and later at Arizona.
Memorial services for Dykes will be held in Lubbock, Texas, on Thursday and in Horseshoe Bay, Texas, on Friday.