It was 1979…Jimmy Carter was president.
A gallon of gasoline was $.82
Disco was getting demolished in Chicago.
And football began at Lubbock Christian College.
“You know I loved LCU and I love LCU football and I was so excited today that they announced in chapel everybody just went ballistic, ” says Greg Garrett.
The Announcement made two years earlier by University President Harvey Pruitt came to fruition on September 1, 1979 at Lowery Field as 59 players hit the turf for first year head coach Jerry Don Sanders.
A 35-6 loss to McMurry didn’t dampen the spirits of those craving football at LCC. Growth in the program didn’t yield wins, what it did create was an amazing atmosphere for players and students alike…
“I was 28. I was the youngest head football coach of a college or university in America when I was hired there. And I was a young puppy to say the least,” explains Coach Don Carthel.
After a rough 0-8 start to the 1981 season, Coach Carthel thought it was time for some action…
“Coach Carthel brought some T-shirts in at the beginning of the week that said win number one McMurry. And serving of us laughed because we just had this expectation that it was going to be more of the same but that week we won,” says Pat Randolph
“We put together a pretty good game plan. We had a good feel for McMurry. So I ordered some t-shirts early in the week and hoped that would motivate the kids and I think it did help a little bit. It was a fun week of preparing. And it was a great week for the college campus. They turned out a day of class after we won our first game officially, ” says Coach Carthel.
The Chaps triumphed that day in early November 1981 on Lena Stephens Field …13-7 over McMurry…the same team the Chaps played to begin football at LCC.
Unfortunately the one win would be all the program would gain…finishing the season 1-9 in ’81. The next year brought another winless season. And after the ’82 season was over…so was football at LCC.
“Yeah it broke my heart. I poured my heart and soul into that thing for 24 months. And we were really getting that thing turned and some experience back and some depth in the program and everything, ” says a disappointed Coach Carthel.
“I was really upset after that happened and I said some some really nasty things in the paper that I regretted most of my adult life on but I’ll look back on it now and I see that they were trying to make a decision that was good for the University and that was good for the students,” Aknowledges Randolph.
Acoording to Greg Garrett…”The friends that I play football with are my dearest friends in the world. and we actually still get together and try to trip annually I will go out for a weekend without the wives and just hang out at the lake and enjoy each other’s company so I just appreciate those friendships that we made. “
“Despite the fact that that we didn’t do well on the scoreboard we develop really good friendships with each other and we had to have the support of our fans and the Lubbock Christian community which was you know it was a win-win” says Randolph.
