Remembering Mike Harrison ’64: The West Texas Businessman Behind The Harrison Building, TCU’s Middle-Income Scholarship Program and Horned Frog Athletics

Harrison wore purple the way he gave to TCU: without ceremony and for most of his life. Photo by Glen E. Ellman

When Texas Christian University prepared to name its new administration building in honor of Mike and Brenda Harrison, Chancellor Emeritus Victor J. Boschini Jr. had to do something he rarely does with major supporters. He had to argue.

Harrison didn’t want his name on the building.

“I basically had to force him to let us use their name,” Boschini said. The reaction was consistent with everything he knew about the man. Many times over the years, Harrison had handed Boschini a check, sometimes for millions of dollars, with instructions that could not have been simpler: “Just do something good with this on campus, Victor.”

He meant it. All the Harrisons ever wanted, Boschini said, was for TCU to prosper.

Michael Anderson “Mike” Harrison ’64 died April 30, 2026, in Midland, Texas. He was 84.

Armed with a Bachelor of Business Administration from TCU, Harrison began his professional career at First National Bank in Fort Worth, but when his grandmother passed away, he returned to Pecos, Texas, at his mother’s request to manage the Anderson family estate. What began as an obligation became a calling. As managing partner of Anderson Enterprises and, later, Anderson Ranches in Midland, he spent more than five decades in West Texas agriculture and business. He became a trusted resource in oil and gas, lauded across the region for sharing hard-won expertise in pipeline operations.

His civic commitments in Reeves County ran deep. He served on the Pecos City Council, as a director of Security State Bank and as an elder at First Christian Church. Elected Reeves County Judge in 1991, he served in that role until 1994. He was appointed by Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby to a state commission on rural economic development.

TCU was never far from Harrison’s thoughts. The sentimentality went back generations.

Harrison’s father, W. Oliver Harrison ’32 (BDiv ’35), had enrolled at TCU at 16, working as a janitor to pay his way. He ultimately earned three degrees from the university. Mike’s brother, William O. Harrison Jr., graduated in 1967. Mike’s son Michael Harrison Jr. earned his degree in 1991 and daughter Christina Harrison Pittman in 1994. Last May, Abby Harrison ’25 crossed the stage with a degree in Communication Studies, becoming the fourth generation of Horned Frog Harrisons.

“Just do something good with this on campus, Victor.”
Mike Harrison

In 2019, the Harrisons gave $10 million to TCU to establish the Brenda and Mike Harrison Endowed Scholarship Program, a permanent need- and merit-based scholarship for students from middle-income families priced out of private university tuition. Every major philanthropic decision was made together, a true partnership from the start.

At the building dedication of The Harrison in 2020, Mike told the story of a secretary, Suzie Kerley, who had worked for him in Pecos, a woman whose daughters were exceptional students, who applied to TCU, who were accepted but who couldn’t afford to go on a middle-income family salary.

“When we had a chance to do something to help TCU, we were going to make sure middle-income families had a chance to go like we did,” Harrison said. “I couldn’t afford [the scholarship program] then, but now we hope we made a difference.”

Hundreds of TCU students have benefited from that scholarship since its creation. In recognition of the gift, TCU named its new administration building The Harrison, a decision that required some persuasion.

“Mike and Brenda have quietly made TCU a better place for all Horned Frogs. It is a rare privilege to have seen their generosity in action across campus,” TCU Chancellor Daniel W. Pullin said. “Most profoundly, they have made a positive mark on the everyday lives of students, with their inspired gift for middle-income students and their investment in our student-athlete experience.”

The Harrisons’ generosity to TCU left a mark on nearly every corner of campus. They regularly supported the Neeley School of Business and Brite Divinity School, among other projects and initiatives. In 2025, the Mike & Brenda Harrison Football Performance Center was dedicated in recognition of their lead gift to TCU’s $50 million Athletics Human Performance Center project, the latest expression of a lifetime of devotion to Horned Frog athletics.

“Brenda and Mike have been unwavering in their support of TCU and have always stepped in to strengthen our programs and the student-athlete experience,” TCU Football Coach Sonny Dykes said. “Mike’s loyalty, sincerity and generosity will be missed.”

In 2023, TCU honored Harrison with its Royal Purple Award, the university’s highest recognition for alumni service and generosity.

A 1964 graduate, Harrison, center, carries a Horned Frog legacy that reaches across four generations. Photo by Glen E. Ellman

At the Harrison Football Performance Center dedication, Mike’s granddaughter Abby rose to offer remarks. She prefaced what came next by saying it was a story told “in the clear Mike Harrison fashion.”

She lives in Augusta, Georgia, deep in Georgia Bulldog territory. On her first day at a new job, her colleagues hung a printout of the Georgia-TCU national championship score above her desk.

She went home that evening, gathered every piece of TCU gear she owned and walked back in the next morning with a bag full of purple. A Hypnotoad now hangs by her left monitor, flanked by TCU towels.

“I’m known as the TCU girl,” she said. “But I wouldn’t want to be known for anything else.”

She learned that loyalty from her grandfather.

Those who knew Mike well said his priorities were simple: God, family and TCU, in that order. To Boschini, who first met Harrison during a 2003 trip to Midland, the measure of the man was straightforward. He was understated, funny without trying to be and entirely uninterested in credit. Speaking of the students whose educations Harrison made possible, Boschini said: “He was a kind and decent man and a hard-working person, and those are all qualities they should try to emulate.”

Harrison, top right, with his Phi Delta Theta swimming teammates during his senior year at TCU. He remained a competitive athlete well into his later years, particularly on the golf course. 1964 Horned Frog Yearbook

Harrison was a gifted athlete long before he became a patron of TCU athletics, a high school basketball player whose competitive drive never faded. He was also a formidable golfer. He recorded five holes-in-one, won the Senior Club Championship at Riverhill Country Club in Kerrville, Texas, six times and claimed the Pecos Men’s Golf Association Senior Club Champion title eight times between 2001 and 2012. His golfing friends will remember the sparkle in his eye when the game was on the line.

Mike Harrison is survived by his wife, Brenda; his sons, Michael Harrison Jr. and wife Penny, Gray Harrison and Nicholas Harrison; his daughter, Christina Harrison Pittman; and five grandchildren, Ben, Will and Abby Harrison, and Carolina and Harrison Pittman.

“We are honored to continue to celebrate Mike’s life in the daily life of campus as students, faculty and staff enjoy their namesake, ‘The Harrison,’ ” Pullin said. “To Brenda and their many generations of Horned Frogs, we are grateful for Mike, for you and for your family’s legacy at TCU.”

A memorial service will be held Tuesday, May 12, at 11 a.m. at First Christian Church in Midland, Texas. On the day of his memorial service, the TCU flag outside of Sadler Hall will fly at half-staff.

— Caroline Collier