OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 22, 2020) – One look at Dennis and Phyllis Mitchell's vehicle and you will know exactly where their loyalties lie when it comes to supporting a university, as their personalized license tag reads "OC FANS."

For more than 50 years, the Mitchells have been involved with Oklahoma Christian, first as students and for decades now as big boosters of the university, and specifically of OC athletics. Many improvements at OC facilities through the years have involved the Mitchells, who continue to regularly give to a multitude of programs in OC athletics.

So when OC Athletic Director David Lynn wanted to create a new award that honors exceptional achievement by the university's coaches, he knew after meeting with Chief Recruitment Officer Jeff Dimick and Chief of Staff Kent Allen just who the award's namesakes should be – the couple who often can be found in the Eagles' Nest watching OC basketball and cheer teams, at Tom Heath Field taking in a softball game, at Dobson Field to catch the baseball team in action … well, you get the idea.

The Mitchells fly the OC flag – quite literally, from the flagpole outside their home in Yukon, just west of Oklahoma City. They are proud Eagles and they want the world to know, although they remain humble about how they give back to their alma mater.

"We're not wealthy by any means, but we try to do as much as we can," Dennis said. "We're just trying to do our part."

What they do is a lot, because they love OC. Their roots with the university run deep. They arrived at then-Oklahoma Christian College in the fall of 1966 – she from Broken Arrow, he from Hanford, Calif., a small town near Fresno. Dennis said a "traveling missionary" from Oklahoma named C.E. McGaughey had visited California and told him, "I should be going to school there."

During his sophomore year, OC started a varsity scholarship tennis program and he proved to be one of the Eagles' top players before he graduated in 1969. He and Phyllis married in January 1970 and they recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

After Dennis spent a brief stint in the National Guard, the Mitchells settled in the Oklahoma City area. Phyllis taught in the Putnam City school system, in the northwest part of the metropolitan area, while Dennis began a 38-year career working for Oklahoma Gas and Electric.

The Mitchells' involvement with OC athletics continued in the 1970s, as they joined the OC Booster Club and Phyllis joined the Oklahoma Christian Women's Association, of which she now is a lifetime member. Dennis served as the booster club's vice president and president, working with their friends Bill and Pat Hanna.

Along with their daughter, Karel Mitchell Ludwig (a former OC cheerleader), the Mitchells joined the OC Associates program – which includes friends of the university, alumni, faculty and staff who faithfully support the nonprofit school financially – in 2004, a year after it began. In recent years, the Mitchells have contributed toward many campus improvements, including new carpet in the lobby outside Baugh Auditorium and new bleachers, video boards and a new playing surface in the Payne Athletic Center.

Phyllis has taken a particular interest in OC's cheer program, which was revived with the 2019-20 academic year and now is coached by Susan Jones. Phyllis, a seamstress, made the cheerleaders' Christmas outfits last year for the team's Lighting of the Commons routine.

"I coached their daughter in high school so I've known them a really long time," Jones said. "They have always been an amazing Christian family and extremely generous. They not only contribute monthly to the cheer fund, but they contributed toward our new mascot, the mirrors in the classroom that cheer uses and purchased our new poms this year, in addition to Phyllis making our Christmas costumes last year! They have been such great supporters to our cheer team and to me personally. We have been totally blessed by their involvement."

In 2018, Lynn, who serves as OC's men's golf coach in addition to being the university's athletic director, wanted to find a way to financially reward OC coaches who had achieved professional success. After talking with Dimick and Allen, they came up with the idea of naming the honor after the Mitchells. The "Mitchell Excellence in Coaching Award" now is given annually to a coach (or coaches) who have received a coach-of-the-year honor at the conference or regional level, guided a team into the NCAA Division II postseason, coached an All-America student-athlete or won a conference title.

This summer, the recipients of the newly named award were Lynn, who was named as the Lone Star Conference's and South Central Region's coach of the year, and Josh Davis, who was named as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's co-men's swimming coach of the year. Lynn and Davis met with the Mitchells and OC President John deSteiguer for a luncheon in June to celebrate the honors.

Lynn, as an athletic director, appreciates the Mitchells' enthusiasm for OC.

"We wanted to name the award in the Mitchells' honor because of all of the things they have done for OC athletics," Lynn said. "They have strived to help us be excellent.

"At the luncheon, Dennis shared why he and Phyllis love OC so much. He shared his connection as being a former student-athlete here at OC and why OC athletics is so important to him and how it's touched his life and shaped and molded all the things that he's done. It was extremely inspiring to hear him share his story."

The Mitchells certainly are passionate about celebrating the successes of OC coaches.

"When you have an Olympic medal-winning swimming coach like Josh Davis, or a (baseball) coach like Lonny Cobble, and people are trying to steal them away and they're excellent coaches – all of our coaches are! We don't want to lose them," Phyllis said. "Anything we can do to try and keep our quality coaches and give them a little bit of recognition … they appreciate being told, 'Job well done!' That's the idea behind it."

Through the years, the Mitchells have developed strong friendships with numerous OC coaches, which they say have blessed their lives in incalculable ways, which makes giving back a pleasure. The feelings are reciprocated from those coaches, such as Jones, OC men's soccer coach David Scott and Dan Hays, who coached OC's men's basketball team for 33 seasons.

"Dennis and Phyllis are two of the most loyal Eagle fans we have ever had," Hays said. "My wife JoAnn and I consider them close friends that we love and respect."

There's little doubt the OC athletic department, and the entire university, would be a lesser place had the Mitchells not chosen to give of their time and treasure to their alma mater.

"If you ask them, they give," Lynn said. "It's nonstop. We should celebrate the Mitchells. They deserve notoriety for what they do for OC athletics. They have spent countless hours working on behalf of our department. They have been a huge part of OC athletics for a long time. They give a lot of themselves to OC. We could not do what we do without them."