FORT WORTH, Texas — TCU football coach Sonny Dykes and his wife, Kate, are donating $1 million to the athletics department in honor of two people with close ties to the university and football program, school officials announced Tuesday.
The gift will be split between honoring former TCU offensive lineman Jamal Powell and Shirley Enis, the late wife of TCU trustee Hunter Enis.
Powell's name will be honored on the weight room at TCU's new Harrison Family Football Performance Center, and the gift will also establish an endowment in Shirley Enis' name to support women's athletics at TCU.
Powell was a three-year letterman at TCU from 2000-2002. He coached alongside Dykes at SMU until his death in 2021 at the age of 39.
Kate Dykes described Shirley Enis as "one of the kindest people Sonny and I ever met."
"Sonny and I are so appreciative to be at TCU," Kate Dykes said. "When we first came here in 2017, we saw how special the TCU community is. We are very proud to give back to a place that means so much to our family and recognize Jamal Powell and Shirley Enis for the impact they made on our lives. From his playing days here, Jamal always had a place in his heart for TCU and became a part of our family when he coached with Sonny. Shirley had such a passion for TCU and was one of the kindest people Sonny and I ever met. She immediately welcomed us into her TCU family, and we are so honored to return the love she shared with us."
TCU football gets the season started Friday night against Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif.
