Rick Dickson

The Ben Henneke Golden Legacy Award recipient Rick Dickson (Director of Athletics, 1990-94; 2020-24) played collegiate football for the Golden Hurricane in the 1970s and spent two different stints as the school's director of athletics. Dickson was named the Tulsa Director of Athletics in 1990 and during his first tour of duty galvanized the city of Tulsa in support of Golden Hurricane athletics. Football season attendance spiked and surpassed an all-time high attendance average of 31,000 fans in 1991, while, after hiring Tubby Smith, basketball attendance grew by more than 2,000 and reached a season average high of 7,300 in 1993-94. Dickson lobbied bowl committees in 1991 for Tulsa's opportunity to participate in a postseason game, landing the Hurricane an appearance in the Freedom Bowl. He was also successful in getting Tulsa voted onto the College Football Association's (CFA) Active Member list in 1991 as a major college independent. Dickson established the school's first statewide radio network, also in 1991, with the debut of the Golden Hurricane Radio Network. He instituted several new fund-raising initiatives, programs to improve the academic performance of student-athletes and established "Operation Golden Hurricane," a community outreach program for TU student-athletes. Dickson came out of retirement in 2020 to return to his alma mater. He instilled a renewed energy with fundraising efforts reaching new heights, reinvented the Golden Hurricane Champions Fund and initiated the Case Fund for student-athlete academic enhancement, which was a $2 million fund in year one. Tulsa's fundraising total increased by 25% each year under Dickson's guidance, and the Golden Hurricane Champions Fund reached an all-time high of $3 million in 2024. His prolific career also included leading athletic programs at Washington State University (1994-2000) and Tulane University (2000-15), where Dickson was instrumental in rebuilding the athletic program after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.