Rich Brooks Gives Emotional Thank You at Indoor Dedication

Kentucky celebrated one of its best over the weekend. Former head coach Rich Brooks was joined by former players and friends at the recently renovated indoor football facility as the university dedicated the Rich and Karen Brooks Field.

This offseason the Nutter Indoor Field House underwent $5 million in renovations. Once a shared facility with a smaller field, the track was torn up to make room for 120 yards of turf. New garage doors and lighting fixtures were added, as well as upgraded signage around the stadium. A generous donation from the family of Brett Setzer secured a spot on the turf for the name of the former UK head coach and his wife.

It’s fitting that the new indoor facility bears the name of Rich Brooks. The head coach that pulled Kentucky out of probation to compete in four straight bowl games lamented the lack of resources invested into the program. Now the name of the loudest critic is emblazoned over those tangible upgrades.

“It was a very, very special time in Karen and I’s life. Lexington is a wonderful town and the University of Kentucky is a great place. It’s gotten a lot better with all of these facilities,” Brooks said at a ceremony Friday evening.

“This field, we can remember coming in here and baseball players are having hitting practice over there in the hitting nets, track people are running around. We had to take the nets down and we could kind of divide it in half. But now Mark Stoops has a place where he can come in here and it’s all football. He can get accomplished the things he needs to accomplish.”

Rich Brooks Salutes his Players

“Ditch Mitch and Rich” bumper stickers were frequently spotted around Lexington during the early 00s. Barnhart’s first major hire was not a popular one. Brooks did not win more than four games in his first three seasons. The lowest of lows was a loss in throwback uniforms to Ohio.

The Wildcats broke through in year four and rattled off at least seven wins to appear in four straight bowl games. Reflecting on the turnaround, Rich Brooks got emotional when thanking his players for their steadfast dedication to Kentucky football.

“You guys, and the coaches that I had here working side-by-side, were the reason we were able to take the team on severe probation, and in the fourth (season) bringing it back to respectability and a competitive team in the SEC conference, which is clearly the best college football conference in the nation, and it isn’t even close. You guys played in it and won in it and had great moments. Karen and I will remember those moments all our lives. Having you guys at our house is special and seeing what you’ve done with your lives is special.”

He added, “Thank you players for impacting our lives.”

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