Fox Customized First TV Booth Toilet

College Football Leaders Salute Fox; Funeral Friday

Randy York's N-Sider

Near the end of1999, Keith Jackson's bio grew exponentially...National Football Foundation Hall of Fame Gold Medal, its highest honor...first broadcaster ever named to the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame, first broadcaster to receive the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award from the American Football Coaches Association, and first person to win the National Sportscaster of the Year award five successive times from the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.

Becoming a member of the NSSA and NSA Halls of Fame were important events in 1999 but the retired voice of ABC college football earned another honor that same year that remains near and dear to Jackson, who was born and raised on a farm near the Georgia-Alabama state line. The other 1999 college football first came from Don "Fox" Bryant, Nebraska's beloved sports information director who died last Friday night at the age of 85. One week later, Fox's family, friends, and colleagues will celebrate his life in a 1:30 p.m. memorial service at Lincoln's First United Methodist Church, located at 4530 A Street.

Jackson: An Afternoon with Fox Refreshing

“Fox was one of my favorite people," Jackson said this week. "Spending an afternoon with him was always refreshing. In addition to our profession, we both had a lot in common. We were both ex-marines and both loved to fish. Fox provided the ultimate courtesy for me and my fellow broadcasters. I had whined so much about having to take catwalks outside on cold, windy days to go to the restroom. I often told Fox that I wished broadcast booths would include private bathrooms.  So when Nebraska built its new press box in 1999, Fox took it upon himself to install a very nice private bathroom in the TV booth. I give Fox all the credit for that! He so loved telling that story among others. We just really enjoyed each other’s company.” Jackson is, was and probably always will be the nation's only commentator whose name will remain in a prominent part of Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium. The sixth-floor national television booth is a must-see, and the sign says it all: The Keith Jackson Toilet Facility, Dedicated September 11, 1999. What makes it so special is the italicized signature at the very bottom..."Fox"...

Fox: College Football's Greatest Ambassador

Tom Ash covered Nebraska football for 13 years for the Omaha World-Herald. He knew Fox, respected him and still laughs at the experiences they shared. "If you knew Fox, you couldn't help but love him," said Ash, now retired. "In my opinion, Fox was the greatest ambassador for a college athletic program this country has ever seen. He had the perfect job and the perfect qualities to succeed in that job. He really catered to the press, and that went a long way in influencing the general public around the country. No one was better than Fox and his team when it came to athletic information and statistics. He set the gold standard for sports information offices across the country and ran the best working professional press box in the country.” At the same time, Ash praises a friend and a colleague, he cannot help but acknowledge Fox's wife, Pedie, who has been married for 63 years to the former Lincoln Star sports editor, University of Nebraska SID/assistant AD and one-time trumpet player in the U.S. Marine Corps band. "Fox and Pedie were a matched set," Ash said. "She's the quiet one with the class, and Fox would agree with that. They were a great fit for each other. Good lord, you don't live together for 63 years without being two peas in a pod. Our condolences go out to Pedie, their sons Bill and Jeff and their families and all the grandchildren. They're a very loving family." Pedie is pictured above next to Fox, flanked by then-NU Director of Athletics Bill Byrne (left) and then-Big 12 Conference Commissioner Steve Hatchel. Fox and Pedie were honored at Memorial Stadium in recognition of Fox's 1999 retirement.

Fox's Teaching, Guidance Paved Productive Road

Don Bryant has been inducted into the CoSIDA and the Nebraska Journalism Halls of Fame. "He’s also in the ‘Life’ Hall of Fame for so many of us who worked with Don," said Bill Bennett, a 1974 UNL graduate who worked with Bryant from 1974 to 1981 before joining the UCLA sports information department in Westwood, Calif., where he and his wife still live. "I'm one of many students who can be traced to Don’s teaching and influence," Bennett said. "In us, he saw promise and gave us an opportunity. He mentored us and guided us. Most importantly, he was a lifelong friend and confidant. Following my stint at Nebraska Athletics and during my years at UCLA Athletics, I worked with and was a friend to John Wooden, who taught me the meaning of two small, but very important words, ‘with’ and ‘for.’ Coach Wooden said: “Make sure the team members know they’re working with you, not for you.” Bennett already felt that in his heart because "that's the way Don saw the world, too."

Bryant Belonged on SIDs' Mount Rushmore 

Don Bryant was genuine and a character, making him a genuine character. "He wore those bright red plaid jackets like a badge of honor," Omaha columnist Tom Shatel said. "He was part historian and part public relations man. He had one of Bear Bryant’s hats in his office at Memorial Stadium. All those national media guys who flocked around Devaney did it because of Bryant, and when Tom Osborne offered a different personality, they still came here because of Bryant. These were different days, days when SIDs and media guys hung out, broke bread, exchanged stories. The beneficiaries were the schools and coaches and players. Bryant belonged on a Mount Rushmore in his job, and he was at his best during the Game of the Century, with the world watching. He helped NU in many ways, mostly by just being himself. They don’t make them like Bryant anymore, and I’ll miss that, too. He didn’t take himself or the game too seriously. He wanted it to be fun. That’s what I’ll remember when I see that plaid jacket hanging in the press lounge at Memorial Stadium. I’ll remember to laugh, tell a story, have fun with this game we love. RIP, Fox. Keep Devaney in line up there.”

Omaha Columnist: Fox a Walking History

I asked Mike Kelly, the Omaha World-Herald's former sports editor-turned columnist for his take on an extraordinarily popular man, dad, grandpa, friend, neighbor and colleague. "Our Br'er Fox never 'lay low' like the one in the old Disney movie," Kelly told me. "The beloved 'Fox' of Nebraska Athletics, Don Bryant, always stood tall and proud in telling the story of the Cornhuskers." Kelly remembers his days as a news reporter before the paper named him its sports editor and sports columnist. It was "a job I hadn't sought," he said while recalling one of his top priorities, eating dinner with Fox at Misty's in Lincoln, where Fox offered encouragement and background to help a "news guy" transition to sports. "Fox had watched Husker games from the knothole section as a kid in the '30s. He was a walking history," said Kelly, who knew immediately why Fox was such a legend. "What a career, what a guy," Kelly told me. "We had dinner again four years ago at Billy's near the Capitol, and I enjoyed some of his stories anew: Bear Bryant calling him "Cousin Don;" Bob Devaney checking into a hotel as "Mr. Roberts" for his Nebraska interview; Fox renaming Isaiah Moses Hipp "I.M. Hipp," and other tales that just never grew old." Thankfully, Kelly provided a line that can take all of us directly to Friday's 1:30 p.m. celebration of a life well lived. "Smart like a fox but warm as a bunny," Kelly said, "Don Bryant was the best good-will ambassador for Nebraska's nationally-respected athletic program...ever."

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