By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – You simply have to admire the pageantry of college football. A sport so steeped in ritual, rich with school and community pride while so eloquently tying the knot with tradition every weekend in the fall. If the play on the gridiron is the main course, then in many ways the pageantry and traditions of it all are the appetizer and the dessert.
On a sultry Thursday evening in Cookeville, Tennessee Tech brought more than its fair share to the dinner table with the unveiling of a new tradition that is expected to make an impact for years to come.
August 28, 2014. The Golden Eagles are just about two hours away from kicking off the 2014 campaign against Kentucky Christian in front of what would be a packed house of 10,697 inside Tucker Stadium. In its second year of existence, Director of Athletics Mark Wilson and head coach Watson Brown lead the "Golden Eagle Walk," guiding the football team from the Eblen Center through the 98.5 KISS FM Tailgate Park, and into Tucker Stadium. For this year's walk, a new friend accompanied the Golden Eagle football team.
Enter the newest tradition of Tennessee Tech football, a nearly 75-pound Golden Eagle metal statue, decked in black, wings spread, claws protruding, sitting high atop a pillar and ready for action. The statue sat at the forefront of the "Golden Eagle Walk," leading the team into Tucker Stadium, before taking its new home during pre-game, right smack dab in the middle of the sideline ready to greet the football team as they ran out of the tunnel and on to the field.
"It was something I'll never forget," senior safety Marty Jones claimed after becoming the first Golden Eagle to touch the statue upon leading the team out of the dressing room, moments before kickoff. "Hopefully it's something I'll be able to tell my children about when we come to Tech football games. It's just special for everyone involved. Traditions like this are what college football is all about."
To find the man behind the latest Golden Eagle ritual, look no further than Charlie Hawkins, a 1953 Tennessee Tech industrial management graduate who has built a reputation as a collector of bird statues and sculptures, eagles of course being his fondest of the collection.
"I just got hooked," Hawkins said, on his affinity for gathering eagle statues over the years. "Tennessee Tech is the Golden Eagles, so that was the attachment for the eagle."
Hawkins, along with his late wife, Norma, have been collecting statues for nearly 30 years, accumulating hundreds throughout that time. Still a member of the College of Business Board of Trustees, you will routinely see Hawkins donating parts of his set to Tennessee Tech, estimating that he has given more than 40 eagles to TTU over the years.
"Most people seem to know that if they know me, at some point they'll get an eagle," he noted with a slight chuckle. "They create a little bit of jealousy because there are two kinds of people; those who have eagles and those who don't."
In 2013 Hawkins donated a 1,500-pound cast iron statue, Tech's largest eagle. Nicknamed Charlie, the statue sits in the drive of the Walton House, the president's residence. It seemed only natural that at some point one of Hawkins' birds would make an appearance within Tech athletics.
"We were thrilled to have Mr. Hawkins donate the eagle statue, starting what we see as a rich tradition for Tennessee Tech football," Director of Athletics Mark Wilson said, on the generous donation. "Tradition is part of what makes college football the great sport that it is, and after seeing the faces of the players, fans and members of the community while guiding the statue down the 'Golden Eagle Walk,' we are excited for what this tradition could mean for the program."
Tech will bring the statue on the road for away games, having already done so for its Sept. 6 contest with Indiana State, only adding to the allure of the newest part of Golden Eagle football that hasn't gone unnoticed amongst the players.
"Traditions are one of the best things about college football, there's just nothing like it," Jones said. "For Mr. Hawkins to donate this statue to our football team and allow us to start what will be a longstanding Tennessee Tech football tradition is the best gift we could receive."
Members of the community will have their chance to be up close and personal with the statue as well. The families that purchased the family-plan season ticket package have been placed in a raffle for the opportunity to lead the "Golden Eagle Walk" before each of the five remaining home football games. The winning family for the Oct. 4 tilt with Murray State has already been drawn, but the chance to lead the team to Tucker Stadium is still available for families for the Oct. 18 against Eastern Kentucky, Nov. 1 against Eastern Illinois, Nov. 8 Homecoming against Southeast Missouri and Nov. 15 against Chattanooga.
For more information on placing your family in the drawing to pull the new eagle and lead the Golden Eagle walk, please call the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center at (931) 372-3940.
