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Dressed
for basketball success
The
Horned Frogs’ Neil Dougherty was voted the nation’s
best dressed coach.
By
Brent
Yarina
Sports Editor
Even after Neil Dougherty picks up his laundry from the
dry cleaners he is never fully satisfied.
The second year head coach says he insists on ironing
and re-ironing each one of his shirts for wrinkles the
cleaners missed before he’ll consider wearing it.
“I don’t like wrinkles,” Dougherty said.
“I will re-iron a shirt even after I get it back
from the cleaners. It’s just one of those weird things
that I can’t stand.”
Well, thanks to collegeinsider.com and its “Best
Dressed Coach” title which was awarded to Dougherty,
the coach’s “weird” habit has finally paid
off for himself and his basketball program.
Not only is Dougherty now the latest fashion expert among
the TCU community and his family and friends, but the
recognition has also brought a lot of attention to his
team.
“It’s a positive lead in for all conversations,”
he said. “Every time this is mentioned so is TCU.
We can never get enough exposure here.”
Angela Lento, chief operating officer of collegeinsider.com,
said Dougherty won the seventh annual tournament this
year because he looks good in whatever he wears.
“He’s always very sharp,” Lento said. “You
never see him throwing his jacket off or looking like
he just rolled out of bed. Some coaches dress doesn’t
fit their personality, but that isn’t the case with
him. His clothes were made to fit him, even his sweats.”
The coach’s run to the best dressed title wasn’t
an easy journey, however.
Dougherty, a No. 4 seed in the Web site’s version
of their field of 65, defeated three No. 1 seeds, including
all three of the previous winners, en route to pulling
off the improbable upset.
Dougherty fails to take credit for this title and instead
jokes about his good fortunes.
“We pulled a shocker upset,” he said. “I
was led to believe we were losing and were about to be
eliminated. But in the end, we pulled off the shocker.
I mean, it’s not like I did anything for this to
happen. It just came to me.”
Dougherty attributed the large campaign he had behind
him to winning the title.
“I had two schools voting for me, while all the others
had only one,” he said. “I had the people from
TCU and Kansas on my side. It was simply a matter of having
a larger campaign than the rest.”
It isn’t so much what Dougherty or his supporters
did for him to achieve this status as what his family
has done.
Freshman point guard Neil Dougherty Jr. credits his mother,
Patti, and sister, Megan, for his father’s wardrobe.
“I don’t know if it is his style that won him
this award,” Dougherty Jr. said. “That credit
should go to my mom and sister. They are the ones always
telling him what he should and shouldn’t wear.”
And Dougherty couldn’t agree more.
“My wife is a champion shopper,” he said. “She
can shop all day long. I’m not good enough to even
make the amateur league. I don’t spend any time in
the stores. I hate shopping.”
In fact, Dougherty, owner of over 100 ties and 10 suits,
said he would love to move his expensive gameday attire
to the back of his closet.
“I’m real casual,” he said. “I just
wish I could be on the sideline in sweats. If I could
go out there in a sweatsuit that matched our team colors
I’d be so happy.”
Either way, Dougherty’s impressive threads have made
him bobblehead worthy, the reward for winning the best
dressed title.
“My own bobblehead, that will be funny,” he
said. “This will be so great, I can already see it
in my parent’s room.”
Dougherty Jr. said the bobblehead is the first step to
his father making a name for himself.
“That’s what makes it so cool,” he said.
“I guess when they make a bobblehead of you, you
have made it to the big time.”
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Stephen
Spillman/Staff Photographer
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| TCU
is receiving exposure due to men’s basketball
coach Neil Dougherty, who was voted best dressed
coach by Collegeinsider.com. |
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