Press Box to be Named for Dick Lyon

 
 

The Ithaca College Board of Trustees has approved the naming of the press box at Butterfield Stadium for the late Richard "Dick" Lyon, who coached the football team for nine successful seasons from 1958 to 1966.

In a resolution naming the facility the Dick Lyon Press Box, the board said that Lyon's legacy "continues as a strong, positive force in the lives of those who were his players, colleagues, and friends at Ithaca, creating an enduring and true presence at the College to which he devoted nine years of his professional career." The press box will be officially dedicated to Lyon, who died in 1976, during Homecoming Weekend festivities on Saturday, September 26.

The 1958 hiring of Lyon brought a resurgence to a stagnant Ithaca College football program. On the heels of a 2-5 campaign, he directed an immediate turnaround to 6-1 in 1958. Lyon's clubs posted three straight 6-2 records in 1962-64, and went a perfect 8-0 in 1965, the first undefeated season in school history.

An incentive was added to the already competitive Ithaca-Cortland football rivalry in 1959, when players from each squad joined to donate a traveling trophy, known as the Cortaca Jug, to be presented to the winning team each year. Today the matchup is one of the most prominent in Division III. Lyon left the program in 1967 to join the football staff at the United States Military Academy.

The trustees' resolution called Lyon "a steadfast mentor, role model, and friend to hundreds of students at Ithaca College," noting that he brought the College recognition "by building a highly successful football program whose players and coaches represented Ithaca with class, dignity, and honor."

Butterfield Stadium serves as the home to Ithaca College football and track and field events. The press box comfortably accommodates radio, television, and print media covering Ithaca athletic contests.

 


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