Texas Tech Receives Generous Gift from John & Diane Scovell Family

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech Athletics announced Tuesday it has received a significant gift from the John and Diane Scovell family that will be utilized as part of The Campaign for Fearless Champions and the ongoing south end zone and Dustin R. Womble Football Center project.

Once completed, Texas Tech will name both the locker room inside the Womble Football Center and the gameday locker room in the south end zone as the “Scovell Family Locker Room” in recognition of another impactful contribution from one of the athletics department’s top longtime supporters. The naming rights to the football locker room is pending approval later this week from the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents.

“There couldn’t be a more fitting name for our student-athletes to see each and every day when they enter the Womble Football Center than the ‘Scovell Family Locker Room,’” Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt said. “When I look at the success of the entire Scovell family, I think about the key ingredients that define successful organizations, words like teamwork, trust and vision. Those same words are ones we use every day as we strive to be the best in competition and in the classroom. The naming of our football locker rooms is a small gesture in comparison to the many years of generosity the Scovell family has provided this university.”

Texas Tech’s relationship with the Scovell family dates back decades to when John Scovell was a standout quarterback for the Red Raiders under head coach J.T. King from 1965-67. Scovell, a native of Dallas, helped push the Red Raiders to two of their most historic road victories during his playing career as Texas Tech knocked Arkansas out of a Cotton Bowl appearance in 1966 and then shocked No. 8 Texas in Austin a year later behind his 175 rushing yards.

Scovell was the top graduate from the Texas Tech College of Business in 1968 and later received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1970. A former member of the U.S. Army Finance Corps, Scovell was tabbed the first National Scholar-Athlete by the National Football Foundation in 1967 and was later presented the prestigious NCAA postgraduate scholarship for his accomplishments in the classroom.

Following his playing career, Scovell joined Hunt Oil Company’s real estate division in 1972 and later co-founded Woodbine Development Corporation, which is celebrating its 50th year as one of the top real estate investment and development companies in the country. He currently serves as Woodbine’s chairman where he oversees the company’s full portfolio of projects for its investment committee.

Scovell has previously served as member of the Texas Tech System Board of Regents, the national board of directors for the Texas Tech Alumni Association, the Texas Tech University Foundation President’s Council and numerous civic organizations in the Dallas area. In addition, he is the past board chairman of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association and has served on the bowl’s selection committee for 30 years.

“During my time coaching in the Dallas area, I always knew of the Scovell family and their commitment to Texas Tech University,” head coach Joey McGuire said. “They are true Red Raiders, who bleed scarlet and black. As a program, we strive every day to live out the standards of ‘The Brand.’ Our student-athletes will see an example of this every day when they enter the ‘Scovell Family Locker Room,’ which is such a fitting tribute for a family that has done so much for this football program.”

Scovell and his wife, Diane, are avid Red Raiders and parents to three sons – Field, King and Dupree Scovell, who all adorned the scarlet and black for the Red Raider football program before eventually earning their undergraduate degrees from Texas Tech. Like her husband, Diane Scovell, who was named Miss Texas Tech and a twirler during her time as a student, has been recognized for her significant civic contributions in the Dallas area due to her involvement with multiple organizations such as the Laura Bush Institute for Women and the Children’s Medical Center Foundation, among others. The couple was presented with the Lauro F. Cavazos Award by the Texas Tech Alumni Association in 2016.

Field Scovell, the oldest of the three brothers, currently serves as an orthopedic surgeon at Carrell Clinic in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Scovell, a 2002 graduate of the Texas Tech School of Medicine, previously practiced medicine in the Lubbock area for 10 years where, during that time, he served as a Texas Tech team physician, specifically with the women’s soccer, football and men’s and women’s basketball programs. He was a three-year letterwinner for the Red Raiders under head coach Spike Dykes from 1994-96. Field and his wife, Lyle, are parents to three children, John Field, Maren and Campbell.

King Scovell followed his older brother as a member of the Red Raider football program from 1998-01 where his tenure overlapped with Dupree Scovell, a letterwinner from 2001-03. The two brothers now serve as managing partners of Woodbine with King Scovell as the organization’s Chief Development Officer and Dupree Scovell as the Chief Investment Officer. Together, they lead the Woodbine team, providing strategic direction for the company at both their Dallas-based and Los Angeles-based offices.

King Scovell has previously served as a member of the Rawls College of Business advisory council as well as the co-chair of the Rawls Dallas scholarship event. He, like his father, has served as a board member for the Cotton Bowl and was tabbed to the Dallas Foundation’s Good Works Under 40. He and his wife, Ana Lucia, are parents to four children, J.S., Lui, DeLa and Cato..

Prior to joining Woodbine, Dupreee Scovell earned four bachelor degrees from Texas Tech University before attending Stanford where he earned a master’s of education and master’s of business. Since then, he has been recognized by Dallas CEO magazine as one of the top 30 real estate professionals under 30 and was listed among the 40 under 40 by the Dallas Business Journal. He and his wife, Jill, are parents to four children, Stone, Tyler, Skip and Bertie.

The Scovell family gift pushes Texas Tech to more than $87 million raised for the south end zone and Womble Football Center project, which began in December as the athletics department’s largest facility investment in school history. Texas Tech intends to raise at least $100 million towards the facility as part of its final stages to the highly-successful Campaign for Fearless Champions.

For more information on the Womble Football Center project or to contribute, please visit here.

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Release provided by Matt Dowdy Texas Tech University