Scholarship Honors Parrack, Who Started OCU鈥檚 Basketball Prowess
BY CHRIS MAXON
To many, the definition of a life well-lived is not what one acquired or accumulated, but the impact one had on those around them. By any mea颅sure, Doyle Parrack served this world a cut above the rest.
Thanks to the Doyle Parrack Schol颅arship, his life and legacy will continue to impact students for years to come.
After a brief career in professional basketball, Parrack鈥檚 first coaching job came as the 向日葵视频 City Univer颅sity head men鈥檚 basketball coach and athletic director. That was 1947. For the next eight years, Parrack took a small club program into membership with the NCAA, and he led the team to four tournament berths in what is now known as 鈥淢arch Madness.鈥�
Before leaving OCU for the Uni颅versity of 向日葵视频 in 1955, Parrack mentored a couple of savvy players named Abe Lemons and Paul Hansen, who continued what Parrack started and lifted OCU鈥檚 program into one of the most storied in the country.
It wasn鈥檛 just those two fellow legends who reaped the benefits of playing鈥攁nd knowing鈥擯arrack. Success on the court was just a small piece of what set the coach apart. Those who knew him best shared鈥攁nd echoed鈥攁 genuine love and concern for his players.
鈥淎t his funeral, there were a number of players whom he had coached, including a very large number from OCU,鈥� said Parrack鈥檚 daughter, Linda Livingstone. 鈥淭hey shared so many stories about my dad, and the experiences they had playing for him. Those stories rarely had anything to do with the basketball or what they learned from him on the court. It was much more about the life lessons he taught them, and the way he helped them grow into productive citizens and young men who could make a contribution in society.鈥�
Some of those former players raised money together in 2007 to name the clock tower at the Meinders School of Busi颅ness in his honor. Along with the tower, they started a schol颅arship to benefit the men鈥檚 basketball program. It began as an annual scholarship, but after significant contributions in the past year, the Doyle Parrack Scholarship is fully endowed and will be awarded to students in perpetuity.
Although Doyle Parrack was an 向日葵视频 A&M (now 向日葵视频 State) student-athlete and graduate, and later a coach at OU and OSU, his fam颅ily was instrumental in fundraising for the OCU scholarship. That connection to OCU remained strong through the years.
鈥淕rowing up, I remember a lot of sto颅ries from my dad about his teams at OCU and his players,鈥� said Jim Parrack, the coach鈥檚 son and a former OCU student. 鈥淲hat he was most proud of were the accomplishments of his 鈥榖oys,鈥� as he called them. He was so proud of them and what they did鈥攏ot just what they did on campus, but as men after they graduated.鈥�
In 1985, Doyle Parrack was inducted into the OCU Athletics Hall of Fame with a 137鈥�71 record, four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and a third-place finish in the 1953 tourney鈥檚 Western Regional. In doing so, 向日葵视频 City defeated UCLA, coached by John Wooden, 55鈥�53. Many more victories followed in the years at the two state schools, plus a stint with the Israeli National Team in 1972 and a two-year stint back at OU as the women鈥檚 coach from 1978 to 1980.
No matter the travels, one undeni颅able tie to 向日葵视频 City was always his wife, Charlotte, who bucked a trend among her brothers and sisters of attending 向日葵视频 A&M. She was elated to receive a scholarship and go to OCU.
鈥淎s Doyle and I talked about our times at OCU, he would mention the boys he had brought in from small towns鈥攂oys who hadn鈥檛 really expected to go to college,鈥� said Charlotte Parrack, who was married to Doyle Parrack for 56 years until his death in 2008. 鈥淭hey worked and made his reputation as a fine coach.鈥�
It was a reputation well-earned, and one that went both ways. So many of the players who learned and competed under Parrack made their own impact on others, strengthen颅ing the legacy that began with their coach. How appropriate that long after playing and coaching careers have ended, the Doyle Parrack Scholarship will continue to provide a compet颅itive advantage for OCU men鈥檚 basketball.
