Memorial Stadium renamed to honor retiring athletic director

Harley Classe, Assistant Sports Editor|May 13, 2021

provided by Frisco ISD

The oldest football stadium in Frisco, once known as Memorial, is now being renamed Kuykendall Stadium in honor of former FISD coach and athletic director, David Kuykendall. The stadium will also be receiving a new video board for the purpose of enhancing game-day experience for fans and athletes alike.

After decades of leading the way for Frisco ISD sports, athletic director David Kuykendall is retiring. However, his name will not be forgotten as Frisco’s original football facility, once referred to as Memorial Stadium, is now David Kuykendall Stadium.

“It’s so very humbling. All of these people coming here, it’s huge and it means so much to me,” Kuykendall said in an FISD news release. “The success in Frisco ISD is not from me but from the people that we have hired. They all have big hearts and are dedicated to doing what’s best for the kids and doing it the right way.”

Campus athletic coordinator and head football coach Matt Swinnea believes that Kuykendall’s humility does not pay enough credit to the contributions he has made to Frisco ISD.

“I think it is extremely fitting and I can’t think of anybody else it should be,” Swinnea said. “He is the only full time athletic director that the district has ever had. He has seen the unprecedented growth of one school to 10 and just the fact that he has helped the district navigate that exponential growth in athletics is just a very fitting tribute to him.”

Starting off as the head football coach at Frisco High School in 1993, Kuykendall became the district’s athletic director in 1999 when Frisco ISD was stil a one high school district. 

More than 20 years later, Frisco ISD now has 10 high schools as the district and its families decided to follow a small-school model that provides more opportunities for more students.

“We’re always going to have that mentality here in Frisco ISD, where we’re going to create an environment in which you can play as many things as you want to play,” Kuykendall said in Focus. “Whether it be in band, or theatre, or multiple sports or whatever, we’re all about creating the opportunity.” 

Former superintendent Dr. Rick Reedy enjoyed working alongside Kuykendall throughout his time spent with FISD.

“Through Coach K’s organization and leadership, there’s been a lot of growth opportunities for young people in Frisco ISD,” Dr. Rick Reedy said in an FISD news release. “You knew you could always count on him because he always put the kids first.”