EAGER — In addition to one of Arizona’s oldest rivalries taking center stage tonight as Round Valley and St. Johns have faced one another for more than 120 years, an Elks legend will be cemented in high school football lore.

Tot Workman, who coached Round Valley to undefeated 12-0 seasons while winning back-to-back state football titles in 1979 and 1980, passed away in March 2023 at the age of 82 and tonight, he will be honored as the school district will rename the Round Valley Ensphere, the Tot Workman Dome.

Owned by Round Valley High School and its school district, the wooden structure cost $11 million and opened in 1991. The dome will be renamed the Tot Workman Dome on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (Round Valley Athletics/Courtesy)

Opening in 1991, the wooden structure is the only domed high school football stadium in the country and seats 5,500 fans for football and 9,000 for basketball and volleyball.

Costing $11 million to build, the dome has always been considered by locals as the house Workman built, and now it will become official. A sign outside the massive structure now reads, “In tribute to Coach Tot Workman, the man who built the dome, Elks #1 second to none.”

“We appreciate the [school] board and the community for providing this great honor,” Tot’s son Tod Workman, Round Valley’s assistant athletic director, told AzPreps365.com this week. “Dad always bragged about how the community was always behind him. He had great kids and coaches. The man and company that made the sign made sure that it was big!”

Tot Workman having fun at home in this undated photo. Son Tod Workman said his dad raised them with a strong hand, but was just as quick to give a big hug. He was their best friend and greatest fan, and he never missed a day telling them how much he loved them. (Round Valley Athletics/Courtesy)

The Round Valley School District will dedicate the dome Friday, Sept. 6, at halftime between the Elks and St. Johns. Due to flooding in the dome, however, the game will be played outside the dome on the original field where it all began.

Growing up in St. David, Tot Workman set numerous football state records as a running back that stood for decades and was recruited to play football for Arizona State College, which was renamed Northern Arizona University in 1966.

After his playing days, Workman coached in Nevada briefly before returning to Arizona with stints at Antelope and Snowflake before coming to the Round Valley community where he stayed.

“Dad always made sure you felt part of the team. It was never about size or ability, you felt your effort mattered. Coach would say, ‘Athletics draw out the best in an individual, how far each of us can go with what we’ve been given. I believe everyone is put on this earth for the purpose of being a winner. I don’t think God put us here to be losers. But sometimes the winners are not the ones who walk home with the trophy,’” his son Tod Workman recalled.

“He had a great love for his players. He coached literally up to the week of his death.”

Tot Workman seen in this picture during his football playing days at St. David High School, where he set numerous state records as a running back that stood nearly three decades. (Round Valley Athletics/Courtesy)

Tot Workman’s coaching career at Round Valley started off better than most, with 100 wins in his first 10 seasons, breaking a state record with 34 in a row (Tucson High School had 32) at one point.

Since its grand opening, the dome has hosted countless state tournaments in wrestling and volleyball, and other basketball, soccer and track invitationals at all levels, while also playing home to car shows, airplane expos and a place to walk in the cold winter months for the community.

Round Valley coach Tot Workman celebrating a state football championship. (Round Valley Athletics/Courtesy)

Inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame in 1989, the Arizona Coaches Hall of Fame in 1990 and the National Coaches Hall of Fame in 1999, Tot Workman never stopped working, bouncing around different administrative jobs on the Navajo Indian Reservation.

And not long before he died in 2023 of cancer, Tot could be seen in his wheelchair coaching hurdlers on the American Leadership Queen Creek track and field team.

“We were taught that we were Workmans! We had to earn our playing time much differently than others. We love our dad. He was our best friend and greatest fan,” Tod Workman said. “We were raised with a strong hand, but he was just as quick at giving a big hug. He never missed a day to telling us how much he loved us. He made sure athletes knew how much he loved them.”

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on X at @AzPreps365Brian or on Facebook at @Five2MediaWorks. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.