After roughly eight years with Eanes ISD, Todd Dodge, head football coach and director of athletics at Westlake High School, announced his retirement during a July 22 press conference from Chaparral Stadium.
Dodge—a three-time National High School Coach of the Year recipient—will officially retire from the district at the conclusion of the 2021 football season. He began his announcement by saying his heart was full of emotions and went on to thank the players, parents and district staff members for their support, including Superintendent Tom Leonard and Westlake Principal Steve Ramsey.
“We have had a tremendous partnership,” Dodge said. “The conversation about this decision has been going on for the better part of the year.”
Dodge told the community he is leaving the football program and athletic department in a great place and stated now was the right time for his retirement. This year's season will mark Dodge’s 36th year of coaching, and he has several accomplishments under his belt, beginning with his own football career.
In 1980, Dodge became the first high school quarterback in history to pass for over 3,000 yards and went on to start 23 games as a quarterback for the University of Texas at Austin, according to EISD. He began his coaching career immediately after graduation, where his path reflected similar successes.
Dodge was named head coach for the Texas High School Coaches Association North All-Stars in 2004. Following that accomplishment, he was inducted into the Texas High School Hall of Fame in 2006. Dodge has won six state championships and has coached nine quarterbacks who were recognized as Texas State Offensive Players of the Year.
Dodge said his family has roots in EISD and Westlake High School. Accepting the position, he said, represented a coming home for his wife, Elizabeth Neptune Dodge, who he called a “life-long Chaparral.” The field at Chaparral Stadium, Ebbie Neptune Field, is named after Dodge’s father-in-law.
“That has been a tremendous joy,” Dodge said, adding that coaching the Westlake football team was always bucket list position for him.
