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Football
vs Tulane
Father and son following Matt’s game-winning field goal vs. Clemson in 2004
My Dad, Steve Brooks
9/2/2023 10:00:00 PM | Football
Remembering a man whose unwavering support has helped advance Duke football
As August and football season rushes nearer, I keep grabbing my phone to call my Dad and see what games we are going to. To call him and talk about the upcoming season and our hopes for another 10-win Duke season despite the difficult schedule. August was always the month of optimism. "This is the year that we go back to the ACC championship and a New Year's Six Bowl." He loved last year's team and would have been incredibly excited for this year, this team, Coach Elko and his staff… for Duke Football.
For as long as I can remember, Duke Basketball was on in our house (sadly football did not get a lot of TV airtime). We watched all the games together; it was must-watch TV in our house. Dad went to Duke games every year, especially the UNC game. A big moment in our house was being old enough to go to a Duke vs. UNC game with him — something he looked forward to sharing with his grandkids, but we will keep the tradition alive. Starting in 1989, Dad started taking the family to Final Fours to hopefully watch Duke win. In 34 years we only missed one. When Duke Football went to the Hall of Fame Bowl in 1995, we had tickets for that too. Needless to say, you really had to work hard to not love Duke in our house.
Since well before I was born, Dad loved Duke. He always said that Duke was a place that he felt like was home. That was something I never fully understood until I finally attended Duke. Despite how many times you visit, or how many games you go to, there is something special about Duke and Durham that you can never fully appreciate until you've lived there and experienced it. Naturally then, I always wanted to go to Duke, not just because it was such a great school, but because my Dad went there. I remember the day I got my acceptance letter to Duke; I couldn't tell who was more excited — me or my Dad. The fact that I was going to play football at Duke made it that much more exciting.
Watching me wear the Duke uniform was one of his proudest moments as a dad. My parents never missed a game, regardless of whether or not I was playing. I am truly grateful for that. Now that I am a dad, I can appreciate how excruciating it must have been to watch my teams struggle and go 0-23 in my first two years at Duke. Interestingly, though, that encouraged Dad to get even more involved with Duke Football.
Dad's involvement in Duke began back in the 1980s. Whether it was donating to the general fund, sports, for scholarships, or serving on advisory boards and the Trinity Board of Visitors, he loved being a part of Duke. But his passion for Duke Football really ignited one morning during my redshirt sophomore season. He asked why we never wore blue jerseys with blue pants. It was strange we had not discussed that before, but I told him it was because we had Russell jerseys and Wilson pants, so the blues didn't match.
Incredulous that Duke could not afford matching uniforms, Dad reached out and found that, in fact, football did not have it in the budget for upgraded matching uniforms, certainly not from Nike. Dad refused to accept that; he refused to believe that Duke, DUKE, did not have a football team with matching uniforms. So, he paid for the first Nike uniforms that Duke Football had. It took his love of Duke — and his relentless nature — to get the question asked and to make change happen. And so began Dad's labor of love that was Duke Football.
During Dad's involvement with Duke Football, he always had one guiding thought — Duke Football deserves more, the players deserve more. We are Duke, and Duke Football should represent all that Duke stands for. He refused to entertain the notion of a football downgrade to I-AA. He refused to accept the notion that a top coach would not want to come to Duke — and eventually Coach Cutcliffe came and created the renaissance of Duke Football we see today. When Duke was looking for funding for the indoor practice facility, Dad sat down with his great friend (and former Duke All-American) Bob Pascal and explained how to structure the donation for the Pascal Field House so that Duke Football had all the tools it needed to succeed.
All of that is why Dad ultimately decided to donate for Brooks Field. It wasn't to have his name on the field, it was because of where it all had started. Dad said during the dedication that it was for the 0-23 Duke Blue Devils. The team who didn't have matching uniforms and who endured what Duke Football should not have been. A representation that no one will let that happen to Duke Football again. And you know what, it's pretty amazing what the last 15 years have looked like because of every person and family who, like Dad, stood with Duke Football and demanded that we expect excellence.
Anyone who has been around the program knows that Duke Football is a family. More than any other program I have seen, former players remain connected to each other, the University and the program. That's something that is uniquely Duke. Dad loved being a part of that family and through it he made some of his closest friends later in life. Bear Knotts, Bob Pascal, Tom Coffman, John McNabb, Hap Zarzour, Kevin White, Mary Dinkins, Ned Amendola, Coach Cutcliffe — all these amazing people Dad was able to call friends thanks to Duke Football.
To Duke and the Duke Football Family, we thank you for all you gave to Dad and our family. GO DUKE!
For as long as I can remember, Duke Basketball was on in our house (sadly football did not get a lot of TV airtime). We watched all the games together; it was must-watch TV in our house. Dad went to Duke games every year, especially the UNC game. A big moment in our house was being old enough to go to a Duke vs. UNC game with him — something he looked forward to sharing with his grandkids, but we will keep the tradition alive. Starting in 1989, Dad started taking the family to Final Fours to hopefully watch Duke win. In 34 years we only missed one. When Duke Football went to the Hall of Fame Bowl in 1995, we had tickets for that too. Needless to say, you really had to work hard to not love Duke in our house.
Since well before I was born, Dad loved Duke. He always said that Duke was a place that he felt like was home. That was something I never fully understood until I finally attended Duke. Despite how many times you visit, or how many games you go to, there is something special about Duke and Durham that you can never fully appreciate until you've lived there and experienced it. Naturally then, I always wanted to go to Duke, not just because it was such a great school, but because my Dad went there. I remember the day I got my acceptance letter to Duke; I couldn't tell who was more excited — me or my Dad. The fact that I was going to play football at Duke made it that much more exciting.
Watching me wear the Duke uniform was one of his proudest moments as a dad. My parents never missed a game, regardless of whether or not I was playing. I am truly grateful for that. Now that I am a dad, I can appreciate how excruciating it must have been to watch my teams struggle and go 0-23 in my first two years at Duke. Interestingly, though, that encouraged Dad to get even more involved with Duke Football.
Dad's involvement in Duke began back in the 1980s. Whether it was donating to the general fund, sports, for scholarships, or serving on advisory boards and the Trinity Board of Visitors, he loved being a part of Duke. But his passion for Duke Football really ignited one morning during my redshirt sophomore season. He asked why we never wore blue jerseys with blue pants. It was strange we had not discussed that before, but I told him it was because we had Russell jerseys and Wilson pants, so the blues didn't match.
Incredulous that Duke could not afford matching uniforms, Dad reached out and found that, in fact, football did not have it in the budget for upgraded matching uniforms, certainly not from Nike. Dad refused to accept that; he refused to believe that Duke, DUKE, did not have a football team with matching uniforms. So, he paid for the first Nike uniforms that Duke Football had. It took his love of Duke — and his relentless nature — to get the question asked and to make change happen. And so began Dad's labor of love that was Duke Football.
During Dad's involvement with Duke Football, he always had one guiding thought — Duke Football deserves more, the players deserve more. We are Duke, and Duke Football should represent all that Duke stands for. He refused to entertain the notion of a football downgrade to I-AA. He refused to accept the notion that a top coach would not want to come to Duke — and eventually Coach Cutcliffe came and created the renaissance of Duke Football we see today. When Duke was looking for funding for the indoor practice facility, Dad sat down with his great friend (and former Duke All-American) Bob Pascal and explained how to structure the donation for the Pascal Field House so that Duke Football had all the tools it needed to succeed.
All of that is why Dad ultimately decided to donate for Brooks Field. It wasn't to have his name on the field, it was because of where it all had started. Dad said during the dedication that it was for the 0-23 Duke Blue Devils. The team who didn't have matching uniforms and who endured what Duke Football should not have been. A representation that no one will let that happen to Duke Football again. And you know what, it's pretty amazing what the last 15 years have looked like because of every person and family who, like Dad, stood with Duke Football and demanded that we expect excellence.
Anyone who has been around the program knows that Duke Football is a family. More than any other program I have seen, former players remain connected to each other, the University and the program. That's something that is uniquely Duke. Dad loved being a part of that family and through it he made some of his closest friends later in life. Bear Knotts, Bob Pascal, Tom Coffman, John McNabb, Hap Zarzour, Kevin White, Mary Dinkins, Ned Amendola, Coach Cutcliffe — all these amazing people Dad was able to call friends thanks to Duke Football.
To Duke and the Duke Football Family, we thank you for all you gave to Dad and our family. GO DUKE!
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