Dr. David Minter, spectator sportsman extraordinaire

Fort Worth, TX

12/22/2006

Once upon a time, there was a TCU basketball fan who never missed a home game. And we mean NEVER since 1980 when he was hired as a chemistry professor here.

That man is Dr. David Minter, the guy in the front row seat behind the scorer’s table, in Section H of Daniel-Meyer Coliseum whenever the Horned Frogs play at home.  “Basketball is absolutely the best spectator sport, so when there’s a game you have to go,” Dr. Minter explains. “Plus my attention span is about two hours … exactly the length of a game,” he adds with a laugh.

It’s not like he was some ace hoopster himself back in school. On the contrary. “I’m terrible at it,” Dr. Minter confesses. He grew up in East Texas with a basketball-loving Dad. At grad school in Austin, Minter got some preliminary experience in seat-warming while catching all the UT home games.

His loyalties don’t extend to pro teams, he says. He’s strictly a Frog fan and, while he often attends with biology professor Dr. Phil Hartman, Dr. Minter seems to be the one with the unblemished record for TCU faculty attendance. He started going to games when Jim Killingsworth was coach, was courtside for Moe Iba and Billy Tubbs and is now rooting for Neil Dougherty’s team.

And speaking of Coach Dougherty, when he learned about Dr. Minter’s perfect attendance record, his reaction was quick and cordial. He’s added him to the list of those invited to attend basketball practices as well as to the guest list for the Visiting Coaches Luncheons.

“On behalf of the TCU Basketball Program, I want to thank Dave for over 25 years of loyal support. I’m sure that all the players, coaches and teams since 1980 would want him to know how much we appreciate the many hours he has spent cheering on the Frogs,” says Dougherty.