Phil Dickens

Phil Dickens

Biographical details
Born	c. 1915
Died	November 16, 1983
Playing career
Football
1934–1936	Tennessee
Position(s)	Halfback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1939–1941	Wofford (backfield)
1942–1943	NC State (backfield)
1945–1946	Mississippi State (assistant)
1947–1952	Wofford
1953–1956	Wyoming
1958–1964	Indiana
Basketball
1941–1942	Wofford
Baseball
1941–1942	Wofford
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1947–1952	Wofford
Head coaching record
Overall	89–68–10 (football) 10–14 (basketball)
Bowls	1–1
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football 5 South Carolina Little Four/Three (1948–1952) 1 Skyline Eight (1956)

Phil Dickens (c. 1915 – November 16, 1983) was an American football player, coach of football, basketball and baseball, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Wofford College (1947–1952), the University of Wyoming (1953–1956), and Indiana University Bloomington (1958–1964), compiling a career record of 89–68–10. Dickens was also the head basketball coach at Wofford for one season in 1941–42, tallying a mark of 10–14, Wofford' head baseball coach for two seasons, from 1941 to 1942, and the school's athletic director from 1947 to 1952.

During his tenure at Indiana, Dickens compiled a 20–41–2 record. His best season came in 1958, where his Hoosiers went 5–3–1, with upset wins over Michigan State, and Michigan; earning him Big Ten/Midwest Coach of the Year and third place as National Coach of the Year. He was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1974. Dickens attended the University of Tennessee, where he was a third-team All-American in 1936 and All-SEC in 1936 at halfback.

Controversy

During his time at Indiana University, Dickens was investigated for violations in athletic recruiting. Dickens was hired as the head Football coach at IU in 1957 after his success at Wofford College and Wyoming. Knowing that the Hoosiers were at a recruiting disadvantage, Dickens blatantly disregarded the rules, with reports of seventeen violations by the IU football program in his first three months. Reports stated that the school offered, "$50 per month, or expense-paid travel between the prospects hometown and Bloomington." Although no offenses were consummated, Indiana chose to forbid Dickens from performing any coaching related activities during the 1957 football season. Additionally, Indiana was placed on probation for one year by the NCAA.

On December 22, 1964, Dickens resigned as Indiana's head football coach and was given a new position as the university's general manager of off-campus physical facilities. In seven seasons, he compiled a 20–41–2 record with the Hoosiers. Due to over-zealous recruiting, he had been suspended for the 1957 season, and the team had been placed on probation from 1960 to 1963.

Head coaching record

Football

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs	Coaches#	AP°
Wofford Terriers (South Carolina Little Four / South Carolina Little Three) (1947–1952)
1947	Wofford	6–5
1948	Wofford	4–0–5		1st
1949	Wofford	11–1		1st	L Cigar
1950	Wofford	7–2–1		1st
1951	Wofford	6–3–1		1st
1952	Wofford	6–5		1st
Wofford:		40–16–7
Wyoming Cowboys (Skyline Eight) (1953–1956)
1953	Wyoming	5–4–1	4–2–1	3rd
1954	Wyoming	6–4	5–1	2nd
1955	Wyoming	8–3	5–2	T–3rd	W Sun
1956	Wyoming	10–0	7–0	1st		16
Wyoming:		29–11–1	21–5–1
Indiana Hoosiers (Big Ten Conference) (1958–1964)
1958	Indiana	5–3–1	3–2–1	5th
1959	Indiana	4–4–1	2–4–1	T–8th
1960	Indiana	1–8	0–7	10th
1961	Indiana	2–7	0–6	9th
1962	Indiana	3–6	1–5	9th
1963	Indiana	3–6	1–5	10th
1964	Indiana	2–7	1–5	T–9th
Indiana:		20–41–2	8–34–2
Total:		89–68–10
National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth
#Rankings from final Coaches Poll. °Rankings from final AP Poll.