Frances and Ross W. Vick, Jr.
On March 7, 2017, the Charles Alan Wright Fields at the Berry M. Whitaker Sports Complex opened at 51st and Guadalupe Streets following a major renovation project that had transformed the intramural fields into an ultra-modern facility with a myriad of amenities for the recreational and leisure needs of today’s students. This highly anticipated renovation was made possible largely through private contributions, including the generous support of Ross W. Vick, Jr., BBA ’63, and Frances Brannen Vick, BA ’58, MA ’69 (Stephen F. Austin State University) who in 2000 received a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa from The University of North Texas.
The facility features the Ross W. Vick Jr. Patio with ample seating and a fire pit, overlooking a sprawling lawn area. The area is destined to become a popular gathering spot for students who will enjoy meeting friends there to study, socialize or just relax. One could say that the Vick name was destined to be tied to intramural fields since Fran and Ross met at a regional intramural softball tournament in 1953. Fran says, “Softball was the beginning of our family and has remained a part of family life all these years.”
Ross was a six-time All Intramural fast-pitch softball pitcher for his UT fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, and earned three intramural championships and two second place awards. He was also an all-star pitcher for the UT Softball Sport Club and was inducted into the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation Hall of Fame for a pitching career that began at age 14. Fran also earned her way onto the Recreational Sports Intramural Wall of Fame for volleyball with her sorority Alpha Chi Omega.
Both Fran and Ross are long-time supporters of The University of Texas at Austin. In 2003 they established the Frances B. Vick and Ross W. Vick, Jr. President’s Associates Endowment, awarded annually to a deserving UT student whose main field of study is history, as well as many more scholarships at the University of Texas. Fran, a former teacher, author, and publisher, served as president of the Texas Institute of Letters, Texas State Historical Association and Philosophical Society of Texas. She also serves on The University of Texas Development Board and on the advisory board of the College of Liberal Arts. Patton Hall, which houses the College of Liberal Arts, features the Frances Brannen Vick West Garden, named for its benefactor. Ross, a former banking and savings and loan executive, founded his own toy sales company in Dallas that had expanded with a showroom in Kansas City and regional offices in North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee.