It’s been almost 30 years since the Alice Coyotes regularly wore what those who closely follow the program call the “Coyote Shield” on their helmets. Still, the old decal worn through the 1980s has become an Alice football icon and a symbol of pride.

It often pops up on shirts, Yeti mugs and most recently as part of the Alice Coyote Football Alumni’s logo. However, as much as the shield is a part of Alice’s tradition, its original design was inspired by the shield worn on the NFL's Oakland Raiders helmets.

When coach Bob Boyd took over the Alice football program in 1981, he added the shield to the Coyotes’ white helmets. Before that, Alice’s helmets simply sported an orange Coyote.
Boyd, a Victoria native, was drafted by the San Diego Chargers from New Mexico State University. He wasn’t a fan of the Raiders, but he always liked the franchise’s shield.

“Playing for the Chargers, the Raiders were our rivals,” Boyd recalled. “I didn’t care for them much. They put a big old knot on my head once, but I always liked their shield and thought it was kind of cool on the side of a helmet.”

When he became a head coach for the first time at Kerrville Tivy in the late 1970s, he incorporated the shield in the Antlers’ helmets. He brought the shield with him to Alice. He added a Coyote and of course, ALICE. It was simple, but strong and powerful.

When Boyd left Alice after three seasons, he also used variations of the shield at Corpus Christi Ray, Harlingen and Sugarland Clements before becoming a college coach at Texas A&M University.

Coach Bruce Bush kept the Coyote Shield when he arrived in Alice in 1983. The only change he made was making it larger. The shield stayed on Alice’s helmets until the Van Tom Whatley era in the 1990s.

Coach Brent Davis brought back the shield on Alice’s helmets for a couple of games in the 2008 season. That’s when current head coach Kyle Atwood first saw it. He was a new coach at the time and the Coyotes’ playoff run that season combined with the Alice community and its passion for high school football made a lasting impression.

“There aren’t very many places like Alice where football and its history and tradition mean so much to the community,” Atwood said. “I just think it’s neat to recognize that history.”

That’s why the Coyotes are reviving the old shield for the homecoming game Friday night by wearing it on their orange helmets, the same helmets purchased through a player fundraiser two years ago.

“That means a lot to the history of our program,” Atwood said of the shield. “It looks good, and the kids are excited about wearing those helmets Friday night.”

Alice and Tuloso-Midway are squaring off in their District 15-5A, Div. II opener. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Stadium.

Pete Garcia is a Multi-Media Specialist with Alice Independent School District