Husky Stadium statue to honor 'The Dawgfather'

In this Jan. 2, 1978 file photo, University of Washington Huskies' Warren Moon poses with coach Don James after the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. In this Jan. 2, 1978 file photo, University of Washington Huskies' Warren Moon poses with coach Don James after the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Photo: AP Photo: AP Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Husky Stadium statue to honor 'The Dawgfather' 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

Family friends and former UW players are raising money to commission a statue of the coach nicknamed "The Dawgfather."

James was hired by UW in 1974 and compiled a 153-57-2 record at Washington. Three times he was named college coach of the year, including in 1991 when the Huskies earned a share of the national championship.

Tuesday the University of Washington gave it's blessing for the project with details to come on a fund-raising mechanism, possibly before this year's Husky Spring football scrimmage in April.

Safety Jimmy Rodgers played for coach James in the early 80s and says the tribute is long overdue.

"It's something that probably wouldn't have got done if Don were alive because he would have said no, you're not building a statue of me," Rodgers explained. "As Mrs. James, Carol said, it's not coach James' word, it's her word, so we're going forward with it."

Statues of the Husky mascot, (1994) and former Washington head coach Jim Owens (2003) already stand on the walkway between Alaska Airlines Arena and Husky Stadium. The Don James statue support group and university will work on finding a proper site for the new art work.

Project organizer Corky Frady has also created the Purple Reign Open- Dawgfather Memorial golf tournament September 1st. Many friends and ex-players are expected to participate in the fund-raising event at Redmond Ridge golf club.