Parrish Statues

for full text, please scroll to the bottom of the page

Play Audio

Outside of Schollmaier Arena stand four statues honoring champions of the athletic program. Sculpted by David Alan Clark and dedicated in April 2016, the Parrish Statues were generously given by Sue and Bill Parrish. The statues were installed following the completion of the Schollmaier Arena renovation.

The sculptures are arranged in a grouping of three along the south side of the walkway and a single sculpture on the north side of the walkway.

Closest to Schollmaier on the south side of the walkway, is the sculpture of Gary Patterson. Patterson served as the head football coach of the Horned Frogs from December 2000 to October 2021. Amassing 22 coach of the year honors, Patterson is TCU’s winningest coach recording 181 wins and 79 losses, including 17 bowl appearances.

In the center of the three sculptures stands Davey O’Brien. O’Brien was the 1938 Heisman Trophy winner who led TCU to an undefeated season and a national championship. He now has an annual quarterback award named after him.

On the left side of the grouping of three, closest to Stadium Drive, is the statue of Dutch Meyer. Meyer was the head football coach at TCU from 1934 to 1952. During his TCU career, he won two national titles, the first in 1935 and the second in 1938. He finished his TCU career with a record of 109 wins, 79 losses, and 13 ties.

On the north side of the walkway stands a sculpture of James Cash, class of 1969. Cash was the first Black student-athlete at TCU and the first Black basketball player in the Southwest Conference. Following TCU, where he earned a bachelor’s degree, Cash earned a master’s and doctorate degree at Purdue. Cash then began educating others when he joined the Harvard Business School faculty in 1976 and taught in each of the major HBS programs. In 1985, he became the first Black faculty member to receive tenure. In 2020, Cash was the first Black person at Harvard to have a building, Cash House, named for him. At TCU, Cash, an Academic All-American, was named First Team All-Southwest Conference in 1968 when he led TCU to the 1968 Southwest Conference championship. Cash’s jersey is one of four retired at TCU. He is one of five players in program history with at least 1,000 points and 800 rebounds.