Book excerpt: See You at the Top By: Michael R. Willson This is a true story about Dr. Jack Rodgers, Michael R. Willson, and their alliance at the Odessa College to create the Odessa College Men’s Gymnastics program. As the president of Odessa College, Dr. Rodgers decided to drop the men’s college football from the sports program at the college. To put Dr. Rodgers’ decision in perspective, the city of Odessa is the city where the movie Friday Night Lights was filmed. Friday Night Lights is all about Texas high school football—how intense it is; how many Texas state high school championships have come from the city of Odessa, Texas; how many top college recruits have come from the area. Dr. Rodgers’ decision to replace the Odessa college football programs, and to replace it with men’s college gymnastics, was a bold and significant move in the middle of Texas high school football country. And with Willson as head coach, the gambit paid off—with Odessa ranking among the best in their class in college gymnastics from the team’s beginning in 1966.