SEATTLE -- Staring at a glistening Husky Stadium in Setpember 2015, a handful of former Washington football players began asking a question that is about to become a reality.
Why is there no statue of legendary football Head Coach Don James in or around Husky Stadium?
"Back in September, Dennis [Maher] and I looked at the Jim Owens statue and was curious why there wasn’t a Don James statue," former UW safety Jim Rodgers said during an interview in May. "Since he’s done more for the universities football program than anybody in the history of Washington football."
The conversation turned to getting approval, first from Carol James, the late head coaches' wife. She approved. Next was, then interim athletic director Jennifer Cohen, who also approved of the project.
From there Maher, Rodgers, and former defensive back Jim Simpson made calls to members of their respective teams, in addition to the 1984 Orange Bowl team, to start collecting the funds. As of May the group raised roughly $75,000 with the goal being $150,000.
However, the two main goals for the group were to give a representation of the greatest coach in the programs history, without having any corporate funding. As time when on the donations from former players grew and now currently stands at $130,000, with donations being made open to the general public to finish the goal.
"Don had a lot of fans, not just in Washington but in the Northwest and throughout the entire country," Rodgers said. "We wanted to get a majority of it done by the players and then let anybody who is a Don James fan, and boy there are quite a lot of them out there, finish the job."
Former UW running back Greg Lewis, named the Doak Walker Award in 1990, immediately jumped on board to support the idea of having a statue to remember James.
On October 20, 2013, James passed away at the age of 80, leaving countless former players and even current fans with countless memories to remember him by. But for Lewis, having a statue in front of Husky Stadium, gave new-age Washington fans a symbol to remember the legendary coach and understand what he meant to the program and the university.
"When someone passes away I think it brings the reality of their impact to a heightened level and folks want to honor that," Lewis told Rivals in May in an exclusive interview. "When I played for him, he commanded your respect, held you accountable for all your actions and was a strict disciplinarian.
"After I played for him he was supportive and gave great advice and was gracious and a pleasure to hangout with. That contrast was something that sticks out in my mind."
Once the group reaches their $150,000 goal for the statue, the next two phases comes erecting it and choosing when to unveil it. Rodgers said the most likely date is Saturday, November 12, when Washington hosts USC.
Since his hiring on December 13, 2013, several have aligned current UW Head Coach Chris Petersen to James in style both on and off the field. Petersen has successfully implemented his system both on the field and on the recruiting trail, losing only one verbal commit in three years, and running a clean program inside and out.
Having the chance to see Petersen watch the Don James Statue be unveiled before kickoff, a coach he mentioned in his introductory press conference as someone who he grew up admiring, couldn't be more symbolic.
Rodgers referenced the relationship between James and former UW athletic director Joseph Kearney, who held his position from 1969-76, believed in a mantra similar to Petersen and Cohen and of the group of former players organizing the funding for the James statue.
"Their mantra was amazing things can come when nobody cares who gets credit. So that’s really been our mantra."
To donate to the fund visit DonJamesStatue.com and follow the on screen instructions.
