A TRUE PASSION
10/10/2025 11:14:00 AM | Football, "B" Association
While Dusty Sanderson has worked in oil and gas, he loves serving the “B” Association
This is the fifth in a series of stories profiling this year's inductees for the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame and Wall of Honor, which will be posted every week at BaylorBears.com.
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
At the end of his first semester as a student athletic trainer at Baylor, Dusty Sanderson remembers going to head trainer Skip Cox and telling him, "I'm not sure that I can keep doing this."
Consider that this was following a memorable 1974 football season that saw the Bears win their first conference championship in 50 years and beat Texas in the "Miracle on the Brazos."
"Oh, you're going to do it," Cox replied, almost matter-of-factly.
"And when I told him I wasn't sure if I could afford it, he asked me how much money I needed," Sanderson said. "I told him, 'Well, I don't know, but if I had $500 . . .' And he wrote me a $500 check out of his personal account. By the second semester of my sophomore year, I was on nearly a full scholarship, which was unbelievable."
For the last 50 years, Sanderson has been giving back to Baylor with his time, talent and treasure, earning him a spot on the "B" Association Wall of Honor alongside the likes of Gale Galloway, Dutch Schroeder, Clyde Hart and Jim Turner. His name will be officially added to the Wall of Honor at the 2025 Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame banquet on Nov. 14.
"I look at that wall every time I go to the ("B" Association Letterwinners) Lounge," Dusty said. "An unbelievable group of people, men and women, that make up that Wall, that have unbelievable lifetime accomplishments. It's just beyond words. Honestly, I can't picture myself up there. But I'm truly grateful for such an incredible honor."
With his father going to Baylor Law School, Dusty said his first association with Baylor football was listening "to every football game, in the bathroom, with a transistor radio, with rabbit ears and foil on it."
"Dad would get so upset," he said. "I learned humility at an early age, being a Baylor Bear."
Coming from Amarillo, Texas, Dusty said it was "an eye-opening experience" when he "rolled up here for two-a-day workouts" in the summer of 1974.
"Skip Cox couldn't have been a better mentor or a better man to work for," he said. "And it was an honor to get to serve under him."
In a different time and place, Cox was the head athletic trainer and equipment manager and oversaw a group of students that included seven trainers and five managers.
"We signed a contract with Skip that said, these are your duties," Dusty said. "And on the bottom line, in bold, it said, 'And all other duties as prescribed.' There were a lot of 'other' things, and most of them had nothing to do with being an athletic trainer. But I wouldn't trade that experience for anything."
Graduating in May 1979 with a degree in Biology, Dusty had initially come to Baylor to become an athletic trainer.
"And then, after five years of living it every day," he said, "I didn't think that that was what I was called to do. So, I did not pursue it."
Instead, he went into the oil and gas business, owning and operating Sanderson Minerals, LLC, for the last 45 years.
"I office here out of my house, so the commute is about 32 steps every morning," said Dusty, who moved back to Amarillo in 1987. "That makes it pretty nice. But I've loved being in the oil and gas business. It's been really rewarding, and I look forward to going to work every day."
While oil and gas has been his career, there's no question that his true passion is the "B" Association. An officer for four years, Dusty was unanimously voted to hold the title of Executive Vice President Emeritus in 2021, a permanent advisory position on the board.
"I've gotten to do more than I ever dreamed that I'd be able to do at Baylor University," he said. "I used to go to the games at Floyd Casey, and (then-Executive Director Walter Abercrombie) would be out there carnival barking, just trying to get people to come in. That, obviously, is not the case anymore, but I would always tell Walter, 'Hey, if I can ever help or you need anything, call me.'''
Ever since getting that call from Walter, Dusty has had the opportunity to "work with some of the best, most memorable people from the "B" Association, like Dutch Schroeder, Gale Galloway, Jim Daniel, Jim Turner, Phil Duren, Debbie Mann; I can go on and on. But people that have given a lot of their lives, dedicated to making the "B" Association what it is today."
You can certainly add Dusty Sanderson to that list. Along with baseball letterman and fellow Wall of Honor recipient Jim Daniel, Dusty co-established the Dutch Schroeder Letterwinners Legacy Endowment.
"We worked hand-in-hand and got to do it while Dutch was still alive," Dusty said of the former Executive Director of the "B" Association. "And it's really taken on legs. The book value is up to $1 million, and it's something that is going to serve Baylor and serve the athletic department and serve the "B" Association for many years to come."
From 2017 to 2020, Dusty was the "B" Association's representative on the Baylor Board of Regents, appointed to the finance, facilities and student life committees.
"It was a pretty tumultuous time, right after Coach (Art) Briles left and Dr. (Linda) Livingstone took over (as president)," Dusty said. "I remember going into that first meeting, not knowing what to expect. And I knew that I probably had some different ideas than a lot of people in that room. But within a few hours ting, all of those feelings were gone for me.
"I realized that everybody in that room, no matter what their thoughts or beliefs were, they loved Baylor. And that meant the world to me. I realized that this took on a different level, that we had a different cause. What an experience. That was a true honor to be able to serve."
The 33rd person elected to the "B" Association Wall of Honor, Sanderson joins a 2025 Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame class that includes football's Bryce Petty, Cyril Richardson and Derek Turner, women's golfer Hannah Burke, equestrian's Samantha Schaefer, Taylor Ormond from women's tennis, LaceDarius Dunn from men's basketball and baseball player Chris Durbin.
The 2025 Hall of Fame banquet is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, in the Hurd Welcome Center Grand Ballroom on the Baylor University campus. Registration is available here.
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
At the end of his first semester as a student athletic trainer at Baylor, Dusty Sanderson remembers going to head trainer Skip Cox and telling him, "I'm not sure that I can keep doing this."
Consider that this was following a memorable 1974 football season that saw the Bears win their first conference championship in 50 years and beat Texas in the "Miracle on the Brazos."
"Oh, you're going to do it," Cox replied, almost matter-of-factly.
"And when I told him I wasn't sure if I could afford it, he asked me how much money I needed," Sanderson said. "I told him, 'Well, I don't know, but if I had $500 . . .' And he wrote me a $500 check out of his personal account. By the second semester of my sophomore year, I was on nearly a full scholarship, which was unbelievable."
For the last 50 years, Sanderson has been giving back to Baylor with his time, talent and treasure, earning him a spot on the "B" Association Wall of Honor alongside the likes of Gale Galloway, Dutch Schroeder, Clyde Hart and Jim Turner. His name will be officially added to the Wall of Honor at the 2025 Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame banquet on Nov. 14.
"I look at that wall every time I go to the ("B" Association Letterwinners) Lounge," Dusty said. "An unbelievable group of people, men and women, that make up that Wall, that have unbelievable lifetime accomplishments. It's just beyond words. Honestly, I can't picture myself up there. But I'm truly grateful for such an incredible honor."
With his father going to Baylor Law School, Dusty said his first association with Baylor football was listening "to every football game, in the bathroom, with a transistor radio, with rabbit ears and foil on it."
"Dad would get so upset," he said. "I learned humility at an early age, being a Baylor Bear."
Coming from Amarillo, Texas, Dusty said it was "an eye-opening experience" when he "rolled up here for two-a-day workouts" in the summer of 1974.
"Skip Cox couldn't have been a better mentor or a better man to work for," he said. "And it was an honor to get to serve under him."
In a different time and place, Cox was the head athletic trainer and equipment manager and oversaw a group of students that included seven trainers and five managers.
"We signed a contract with Skip that said, these are your duties," Dusty said. "And on the bottom line, in bold, it said, 'And all other duties as prescribed.' There were a lot of 'other' things, and most of them had nothing to do with being an athletic trainer. But I wouldn't trade that experience for anything."
Graduating in May 1979 with a degree in Biology, Dusty had initially come to Baylor to become an athletic trainer.
"And then, after five years of living it every day," he said, "I didn't think that that was what I was called to do. So, I did not pursue it."
Instead, he went into the oil and gas business, owning and operating Sanderson Minerals, LLC, for the last 45 years.
"I office here out of my house, so the commute is about 32 steps every morning," said Dusty, who moved back to Amarillo in 1987. "That makes it pretty nice. But I've loved being in the oil and gas business. It's been really rewarding, and I look forward to going to work every day."
While oil and gas has been his career, there's no question that his true passion is the "B" Association. An officer for four years, Dusty was unanimously voted to hold the title of Executive Vice President Emeritus in 2021, a permanent advisory position on the board.
"I've gotten to do more than I ever dreamed that I'd be able to do at Baylor University," he said. "I used to go to the games at Floyd Casey, and (then-Executive Director Walter Abercrombie) would be out there carnival barking, just trying to get people to come in. That, obviously, is not the case anymore, but I would always tell Walter, 'Hey, if I can ever help or you need anything, call me.'''
Ever since getting that call from Walter, Dusty has had the opportunity to "work with some of the best, most memorable people from the "B" Association, like Dutch Schroeder, Gale Galloway, Jim Daniel, Jim Turner, Phil Duren, Debbie Mann; I can go on and on. But people that have given a lot of their lives, dedicated to making the "B" Association what it is today."
You can certainly add Dusty Sanderson to that list. Along with baseball letterman and fellow Wall of Honor recipient Jim Daniel, Dusty co-established the Dutch Schroeder Letterwinners Legacy Endowment.
"We worked hand-in-hand and got to do it while Dutch was still alive," Dusty said of the former Executive Director of the "B" Association. "And it's really taken on legs. The book value is up to $1 million, and it's something that is going to serve Baylor and serve the athletic department and serve the "B" Association for many years to come."
From 2017 to 2020, Dusty was the "B" Association's representative on the Baylor Board of Regents, appointed to the finance, facilities and student life committees.
"It was a pretty tumultuous time, right after Coach (Art) Briles left and Dr. (Linda) Livingstone took over (as president)," Dusty said. "I remember going into that first meeting, not knowing what to expect. And I knew that I probably had some different ideas than a lot of people in that room. But within a few hours ting, all of those feelings were gone for me.
"I realized that everybody in that room, no matter what their thoughts or beliefs were, they loved Baylor. And that meant the world to me. I realized that this took on a different level, that we had a different cause. What an experience. That was a true honor to be able to serve."
The 33rd person elected to the "B" Association Wall of Honor, Sanderson joins a 2025 Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame class that includes football's Bryce Petty, Cyril Richardson and Derek Turner, women's golfer Hannah Burke, equestrian's Samantha Schaefer, Taylor Ormond from women's tennis, LaceDarius Dunn from men's basketball and baseball player Chris Durbin.
The 2025 Hall of Fame banquet is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, in the Hurd Welcome Center Grand Ballroom on the Baylor University campus. Registration is available here.
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