DALLAS (AP) — Duane Thomas, a running back for the Dallas Cowboys when they finally broke through and won a Super Bowl to cap the 1971 season, has died. He was 77.
The team said Thomas died Sunday but had no other details.
Thomas was with the Cowboys in 1970-71, a pair of tumultuous seasons plagued by a contract dispute that once led him to call coach Tom Landry “plastic man.”
He was the first player to score a touchdown at Texas Stadium in 1971, when he led the Cowboys with 11 rushing touchdowns.
Thomas was born and raised in Dallas before playing college football at West Texas State in the Texas Panhandle. He was a first-round pick by the Cowboys in 1970.
As a rookie in 1970, Thomas helped the Cowboys reach the Super Bowl, where they couldn't shake the moniker of “next year's champions” after losing to Baltimore.
After the season, Thomas' demand for a restructured contract was rejected by the Cowboys and he was traded to New England. He refused to report to the Patriots, and the deal was voided by then-Commissioner Pete Rozelle.
Thomas refused to talk to reporters the entire 1971 season because he believed they had taken management's side, but still played an important role for a team that beat Miami 24-3 for its first Super Bowl title.
The ill will between Thomas and the Cowboys continued, and he was traded to the San Diego Chargers before the 1972 season.
Thomas never showed up for training camp with San Diego and was sent to Washington. Thomas didn't play in 1972 before spending the other two of his four pro seasons with Washington.
Thomas had 2,038 career yards rushing and 21 touchdowns, with 1,596 yards and 16 TDs coming with the Cowboys.
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FILE - Dallas running back Duane Thomas is stopped by Miami Dolphins tacklers after picking up a short gain during the NFL football Super Bowl game in New Orleans, Jan. 16, 1972. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - Dallas Cowboys former running back Duane Thomas responds to a reporters question during NFL football training camp, Saturday, July 26, 2008, in Oxnard, Calif. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
FILE - Dallas Cowboy running back Duane Thomas sits alone on bleachers during NFL football practice in New Orleans, as he refuses to pose for any pictures or interviews by sports writers as the Cowboys meet the Miami Dolphins in the Super Bowl. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - Dallas Cowboys' Duane Thomas (33) gains yardage and a first down as is brought down by Kansas City Chiefs' Jim Kearney (46) during the second quarter of an NFL football game at Municipal Stadium at Kansas City, Mo., Oct. 25, 1970. (AP Photo/William Straeter, File)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The University of Pittsburgh has fired athletic director Heather Lyke, a somewhat surprising move that came a few months before Lyke's contract was set to expire.
Pitt chancellor Joan Gabel made the announcement Monday.
While Gabel thanked Lyke for her leadership, Gabel also noted that with the landscape of college athletics changing rapidly, she felt it was time for a fresh start.
“We need a new vision and a new leader of our athletics department,” Gabel said in a statement.
Lyke arrived at Pitt in 2017 and helped the Panthers start to find their footing in the Atlantic Coast Conference after treading water in their initial years following their departure from the Big East.
The football program won its first ACC title in 2021 and her decision to hire Jeff Capel as the men's basketball coach in 2018 helped bring that program back to life. The women's volleyball team has become a national power and the men's soccer team reached the College Cup twice, 2020 and 2022.
In a statement posted on social media, Lyke thanked the many she worked with at Pitt.
“Today, I reflected of the wise words from a mentor: ‘If you leave a place better than you found it, you can be proud of your work,’” she said. “I am immensely proud of the accomplishments of the student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni, donors and community members that I have had the privilege to serve alongside at the University of Pittsburgh.”
Lyke's most ambitious project was “Victory Heights,” a $240 million facility currently under construction next to the Petersen Events Center. When completed, Victory Heights will serve as the home for 16 of Pitt's 19 intercollegiate programs and will accommodate seating for up to 3,000 for volleyball, wrestling and gymnastics.
The building, launched in 2020 just before the COVID-19 pandemic, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2025.
Lyke, however, will not be around to see her vision come to fruition. She was in the final months of a contract that ran through 2024 but had explored other options lately, most recently when she was a finalist for the athletic director job at Northwestern.
The Wildcats ended up hiring Villanova athletic director Mark Jackson for the job.
Gabel said the school will launch a “comprehensive search” for Lyke's replacement. Jennifer Tuscano will serve as interim athletic director until the search is complete.
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FILE - In this March 20, 2017, file photo, Heather Lyke makes remarks during a news conference in Pittsburgh, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
