COTTON BOWL LEGEND JIM “HOSS” BROCK PASSES AWAY

DALLAS – Jim “Hoss” Brock, the longtime Executive Director of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association (CBAA), passed away early Thursday morning, August 14, at a Dallas area health care facility. He was 74.

Brock had been hospitalized since February 14 after sustaining the first in a series of strokes. He passed away in his sleep at 3:00 a.m., at the Prestonwood Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Plano, north of Dallas.

A native of Fort Worth and a graduate of Texas Christian University, Brock served as the Executive Director of the CBAA for 14 years, from 1979-1992. He then assumed the role as Chairman of Team Selection for one year in 1993 before his retirement. Hoss was elected to the AT&T Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame in 2005.

“We are deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Jim Brock,” said Rick Baker, the President of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association. “There was no such thing as a stranger to Jim. He knew everyone in the world of sports, and everyone knew and respected him.

“Brock’s greatest passion was college football, and most of all he loved the Cotton Bowl,” said Baker. “His name was synonymous with the bowl industry. Texas hospitality was his chief commodity and nobody did a better job of selling it than Jim ‘Hoss’ Brock.”

Brock wore many hats during his tenure with the Cotton Bowl Classic and he was regarded as the bowl industry’s premier public relations man. Hoss was literally on a first-name basis with the rest of the world. He was the master at working his way through press boxes all around the country with his celebrated Cotton Bowl charm. His primary goals were to always promote the game of college football, the city of Dallas, and New Year’s Day.

In addition to his work with the Cotton Bowl Classic, Brock served as the Sports Information Director at his alma mater, TCU, and at SMU, before moving to the CBAA. He also served on numerous influential committees at the highest level of college football. Among them were the Davey O’Brien Foundation in Fort Worth and The Doak Walker Award in Dallas.

Brock worked in a volunteer capacity with the United States Olympic Committee as a media relations coordinator. He was a member of the College Sports Information Directors of America, and the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, the civic organization that annually produces the EDS Byron Nelson Championship.

Funeral arrangements are pending.