TYLER, Texas — Tyler ISD honored a legendary football coach on Thursday night.
"The fiercest, most genuine leader that I’ve ever been associated with, and the namesake of this building, from this day on, Coach Mike Owens," said longtime Robert E. Lee Athletic Director Danny Long.
On Thursday, Tyler Legacy High School dedicated its Field House to honor Owens, naming the building Coach Mike Owens Field House during a special ceremony.
Owens is the winningest football coach in Tyler Legacy’s history, of course formerly known as Robert E. Lee. Owens recorded 113 wins as head coach, led the Red Raiders to the playoffs in 13 of his 15 seasons in the position, five district titles, and the only state championship in school history back in 2004.
A lot of the players on that championship team returned to celebrate their beloved coach.
"It’s just crazy that it’s been 20 years, and it meant a lot to me just because it brought back such good memories. Because he did so much for this program and for the city of Tyler, I mean he transformed the whole community. I know everybody in Tyler’s just so appreciative of it," said Josh Hill, quarterback for the 2004 state championship team and 2005 Robert E. Lee graduate.
Lee had not experienced much winning prior to Owens’ arrival, and by all accounts, he was the biggest factor in turning the team culture into a winning one.
"So that’s what he really brought to his players -- believing in winning. Don’t just hope to win, let’s believe in it, and let’s do it. And that’s what he really inspired us to do, was hey we’re going to go win. We’re not going to try to win, we’re not gonna hope to win. We’re gonna practice to win, we’re gonna workout to win, and when we go out there on Friday nights we are going to win," Hill said.
And Owens did win -- more than anyone in school history. Now, his legacy is immortalized in the Rose City.
"It was just unbelievable. They just put it all together, decided they weren’t going to lose, and they didn’t. And we’re lucky we didn’t have a lot of injuries either, but anyway. So I appreciate this and everybody that’s got anything to do with it," Owens said.