Gary Patterson is going to be forever immortalized on the TCU campus after he finally relented and will allow a statue of himself to be erected in the shadows of Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Over 15 seasons, Patterson has transformed the TCU program from unwanted stepchild after the Southwest Conference broke apart and the Big 12 was born, to now a national power in its fourth season as a member of the Big 12, the league that finally ran out of excuses to keep the Horned Frogs out.
TCU chancellor Victor Boschini told Tim Griffin of the San Antonio Express-News that it took him five years to convince Patterson to let the statue become reality.
"I finally convinced him that it wasn't for him, but TCU," Boschini said. "He's become an icon while alive and did that through virtue of his hard work and personality. He doesn't demand attention. He commands it."
Patterson has led the Horned Frogs to 13 bowl games in 15 seasons. TCU has defeated Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl and will now face Oregon in the Alamo Bowl on Saturday.
"I don't need those things to be successful," Patterson said via the Express-News regarding the statue. "If it helps TCU, great. I'm just trying to win football games."
Griffin reported that Patterson finally agreed to the statue because the donor paying for it is in ill health.
The statue will be erected at the plaza outside the freshly renovated Shollmaier Arena in the shadows of Amon G. Carter Stadium, which received its own $160 million renovation a few years ago thanks to Patterson's unprecedented success at the school.
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