http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/2010/1/27/a-field-for-merlin/
01/27/2010
USU’s seemingly immortal, larger-than-life figure, his trademark beard now gray and his body shrinking as concessions to age and illness, walked slowly to the middle of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum court Dec. 5 as a sellout crowd of 10,270 stood and cheered.
The scene was both reassuring and stunning, celebratory and sobering, amid the realization that there was a reason the legendary Aggie football player was being honored during a basketball game. His legacy will include the naming of Merlin Olsen Field at Romney Stadium, a statue on the facility’s southeast plaza and a scholarship endowment.
“I share this special honor with great coaches and teammates,” Olsen said in a USU news release. “Remembering those days brings to mind some of the happiest and most productive days of my life.”
Olsen, 69, is being treated for a form of cancer. Because of the illness, USU President Stan Albrecht acknowledged during a news conference, there was “some urgency” for the school and Olsen’s family to stage the observance, with the official dedication of the field and statue actually scheduled to take place during the 2010 football season.