Indiana Football Coaches, The First Year: The Strange Saga Of Phil Dickens, Bob Hicks And Big Ten-Imposed Turmoil

This is the third in a series of how Indiana football coaches fared in their first season in Bloomington.

Bob Hicks, far left, was given the unofficial title of "coach-in-charge" as Indiana head coach Phil Dickens was suspended for the 1957 season. Also pictured, from left: Hicks, backfield coach Wilbur Stevens, assistant backfield coach Bernie Miller, end coach Lou McCullough and assistant line coach John Townsend. / Indiana University Arbutus

After Bernie Crimmins resigned after the 1956 season, Indiana football was at a crossroads.

On one hand, Indiana hadn’t had a winning season since 1947 when Bo McMillin was in charge.

On the other? Momentum was predicted for the future. Talk was heating up about a new stadium to replace the antiquated facility on 10th Street. Ground would be broken on today’s Memorial Stadium in 1958.

Athletic director Frank E. Allen wanted to make a choice that would have a profound effect on the Hoosiers’ fortunes. 

The man he hired would have an impact on the entirety of the athletic department, but the 1957 season would be awash in turmoil.

WHY CHANGE?

Crimmins lasted five years in Bloomington, but never turned the Hoosiers around. He had two 2-7 seasons followed by a trio of 3-6 campaigns. Indiana never finished higher than seventh in the conference. On Nov. 28, 1956, Crimmins resigned. He had four years still left on his contract and finished with a 13-32 record.

“For five years, the breaks never seemed to come our way,” said Crimmins in an IU Quarterbacks Club meeting. “Maybe someone else can get the ball to bounce the right way.”

It got nasty in the end for Crimmins. The United Press reported Crimmins’ resignation may have been partly due to an effigy of him that was hung on campus after the season finale loss to Purdue. Crimmins never beat the Boilermakers in his five seasons.

Crimmins would never be a head coach again. Indiana hired a trusted assistant (Smith) and it hadn’t worked. Indiana turned to a proven winner (Crimmins, hired from Notre Dame) and it failed.

A new approach was taken.

ENTER DICKENS

Indiana initially went after North Carolina coach Jim Tatum, who had won a national championship with Maryland in 1953. But at the last minute Tatum decided to stay in Chapel Hill.

Indiana then turned to 42-year-old Phil Dickens, a rising star in college coaching. The one-time Tennessee All-American was 40-16-7 at Wofford just after World War II. 

Dickens was 29-11-1 in four seasons at Wyoming, including an undefeated campaign in 1956. The Cowboys won the Skyline Conference but declined a Sun Bowl bid, holding out for a better bid that never came. He used what he called a “side-saddle T” offense, analogous to today’s Wing-T set.

Indiana football coach Phil Dickens. / Indiana University Arbutus

Indiana interviewed Dickens in December 1956 and hired him in January 1957. Excitement was high, but a prescient cautionary tale was penned by Indianapolis Star sports editor Jep Cadou Jr. the day after Dickens was hired.

“One of the first big tasks facing Phil Dickens as he takes over the reins as Indiana University’s new head football coach will be to get accustomed to a whole new set of ‘ground rules’ on recruiting,” Cadou wrote.

“The Big Ten regulations in regard to lining up promising high school gridders to attend your school are considerably more strict than those which prevailed in the Skyline Conference,” Cadou continued.

Recruiting rules were a hot topic in the Big Ten coming out of the 1956 season. 

Fearing the recruiting competition that had taken hold in college sports, as well as the costs involved in being competitive, the Big Ten created a rule where scholarships were determined by “aid based on need.”.

A formula was created where scholarships would be paid out by percentage. Families had to turn in financial statements to schools, and scholarships would be awarded based on  income. 

These rules might seem quaint by today’s standards of NIL, but the Big Ten was very serious about enforcing these rules … even though no other conference in the country had similar restrictions.

Dickens immediately violated the rule. By July, the Big Ten alleged that Dickens and Indiana had committed 23 violations of the new “aid based on need” rules.

Penalties for the violations could have resulted in Dickens’ termination, as mandated by the Big Ten.

On July 29, Big Ten commissioner Kenneth “Tug” Wilson suspended Dickens for the entire 1957 season. This was an unprecedented decision by the Big Ten. 

According to the Indianapolis Star, Dickens offered recruits room, board, books, tuition and $50 per month for expenses. This was in violation of the need-based rules.

Technically, the Big Ten could not sanction Dickens in such a way, so the league said Indiana’s continued membership in the conference was contingent on the school abiding by the decision Wilson had made.

Indiana reluctantly accepted the sanction. Dickens, who could have no contact with the team during his suspension, expressed regret.

Indiana football coach Phil Dickens, shown here during the 1959 season, was kept in the head coach spot despite being suspended for recruiting violations before his first season in charge. / Indiana University Arbutus

“The conference action is a severe blow to me personally, but I regret even more so its effects upon the university which I wish only to serve and which I hope to serve well for the future,” Dickens said.

Dickens’ future was in doubt before a ball had been snapped. Indiana could have easily cut ties, and in today’s climate he likely would not have survived. But Indiana stood by Dickens, a choice that would eventually have far-reaching implications. 

ENTER HICKS

Bob Hicks was offered the Wyoming job after Dickens departed, but Hicks decided to follow Dickens to Bloomington as the Hoosiers’ line coach.

On Aug. 3, Hicks was named to fill in for Dickens for the 1957 season. He was given the informal title of “coach-in-charge.”

“I can promise only that each of us will do everything within our power to do the job as Phil would have done it. We’ll be operating at a great handicap, but we certainly won’t be writing off the season,” Hicks said.

Adding to Hicks’ challenge was a brutal season-opening schedule. Indiana would face No. 4 Michigan State, No. 16 Notre Dame and No. 8 Iowa to start in 1957. Indiana would be out-scored 127-7 in those three routs. This was followed a week later by a 56-0 loss to unranked Ohio State.

The mood was dark. Some players left the team. After the loss to the Buckeyes, Hicks said it might take “at least 10 years” for Indiana to straighten itself out. (What Hicks couldn't have known was that 10 years later, Indiana had its finest season in its modern history.)

Hicks had one moment of glory. The Hoosiers defeated Villanova 14-7 on Oct. 26, the week after the Ohio State loss. Indiana stopped a game-tying drive by the Wildcats at the 1-yard line on the last play of the game.

That would be the last taste of victory for Hicks as “coach-in-charge.” Indiana would lose its final four games to finish 1-8.

Dickens would return in 1958 and so would Hicks, back in his intended role as line coach. Hicks would be an Indiana fixture as he lasted through the entirety of Dickens’ regime as well as that of John Pont’s into the early 1970s.

Related stories on Indiana football

• CRIMMINS TRIES TO REPLICATE NOTRE DAME GLORY IN BLOOMINGTON: Part 2 of the first-year Indiana football coaches series takes us back to 1951. Indiana turned to the hot name of the moment, Notre Dame assistant coach Bernie Crimmins, to lead the Hoosiers back to winning ways. It didn't end well. CLICK HERE.

• SMITH HAD BIG SHOES TO FILL: Part 1 of the first-year Indiana football coaches series hones in on Clyde Smith, who had the unenviable task of replacing program legend Bo McMillin. CLICK HERE.

• CIGNETTI DRUMS UP EXCITEMENT: Curt Cignetti has energized the Indiana fanbase as he begins his football coaching stint with the Hoosiers. CLICK HERE.