Why an ex-TCU equipment manager announced a documentary to commemorate the Alamo (Bowl)

A former TCU equipment manager plans to make a documentary on the Horned Frogs’ comeback victory over Oregon in the 2016 Alamo Bowl.

Clint Foster, who was the TCU equipment manager from 2009-2013, has started a GoFundMe fundrasiser to finance the documentary.

The win is tied for the fourth biggest comeback in the history of FBS Division I football, tied with Texas Tech’s 2006 win over Minnesota for the largest bowl game comeback victory in history.

Foster said he’d been kicking the idea of making a documentary for years and said the Alamo Bowl perfectly represented TCU’s culture.

“I felt like it kind of was a microcosm of everything that TCU represents, and also the fact that it was the Alamo bowl,” said Foster, “This whole idea of facing incredible odds, overcoming them, is just so central to the state’s identity. You know, everything about why we’re proud to be from Texas...just something that was always in the back of my mind.”

Foster said the story of the Alamo and how Texans overcame incredible odds to win their independence directly relates to TCU’s come-from-behind win.

He also said Bram Kohlhausen’s story inspired him.

The ex-backup QB fell out of a helicopter while hunting in May of 2023 and was severely injured. He had both legs amputated. Kohlhausen has returned to TCU since the accident and was an honorary captain ahead of the team’s 2023 home season opener.

Kohlhausen and other prominent figures from that 2015 team, including head coach Gary Patterson, Trevone Boykin, Denzel Johnson and others will appear in the documentary.

The 2016 Alamo Bowl started with the Horned Frogs playing without All-American quarterback Trevone Boykin, who was suspended for the game after an altercation in a bar the week of the game.

That meant Kohlhausen, a walk-on quarterback, with zero career starts before the game, would get the nod.

The game started disastrously for TCU as the Horned Frogs fell behind 31-0 at halftime.

However, Kohlhausen and the Horned Frogs rallied and scored on every second-half possession until they emerged victorious. A Kohlhausen 8-yard touchdown run put TCU up for good in the third overtime period.

Foster, who attended the game with his wife and friends, talked about what he remembered from the come-from-behind win.

“That whole first half we were all just miserable, saying man, why did we come down, and making jokes about it,” said Foster, “The Rose Bowl was like, probably the most important win I’ve ever seen. I was at the national championship. I was thrilled to be there, even as terrible as it turned out. But [the Alamo Bowl] was the greatest, just so, so incredible that come back and going into three overtimes, and then pulling it out at the end. It’s got to be one of the best games I’ve ever been at.”

Foster wanted to showcase not only the victory but also the culture and spirit of TCU, a school he loved before he enrolled with almost all of his family having attended the Fort Worth university.

Foster fondly remembers his time at TCU as an equipment manager and even proposed to his wife during one of the team’s trips for a bowl game.

“The Rose Bowl is a special one that was the culmination of so much, so many years of like, wanting to prove to the nation what TCU was about finishing off that undefeated season, the Rose Bowl, of all places, it was incredible and I also proposed to my wife on that trip my sophomore year,” said Foster.

After college, Foster briefly lived in Los Angeles while working in the entertainment industry before returning to Fort Worth and becoming a teacher while creating comedy shorts on YouTube.

Since its creation on Sept. 28, the project has raised $2,497 of its $5,500 goal on GoFundMe and Foster has also received support from Thaddeus D. Matula who helmed ‘The Pony Express,” one of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentaries after he asked the director for advice.

“[Matula] just started giving me so much advice and said ‘I really want to help you, and I want to see you succeed with this,’ So he started talking about, you know, just storytelling advice and using a buyback structure and stuff that I was actually already considering. and just said, ‘Just do the thing. I’m rooting for you,’” said Foster, “I was like, wow. Okay, let’s make this.”

Foster said he hopes to have a premiere event for everyone who donated to the film and plans to release the documentary before the start of the 2025 season for the tenth anniversary of the 2015 season.