Pat Dye

Pat Dye

Biographical details
Born	(1939-11-06)November 6, 1939 Blythe, Georgia,U.S.
Died	June 1, 2020(2020-06-01)(aged 80) Auburn, Alabama,U.S.
Playing career
1958–1960	Georgia
1961–1962	Edmonton Eskimos
Position(s)	Offensive guard,linebacker
Coaching career (HCunless noted)
1965–1973	Alabama(LB)
1974–1979	East Carolina
1980	Wyoming
1981–1992	Auburn
Administrative career (ADunless noted)
1981–1991	Auburn
Head coaching record
Overall	153–62–5
Bowls	7–2–1
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
SoCon(1976) 4SEC(1983, 1987, 1988, 1989)
Awards
First-teamAll-American(1959) Second-team All-American (1960) First-teamAll-SEC(1960) Second-team All-SEC (1959) 3×SEC Coach of the Year(1983, 1987, 1988)
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 2005 (profile)

Patrick Fain Dye(November 6, 1939 – June 1, 2020) was an Americanfootballplayer, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach atEast Carolina University(1974–1979), theUniversity of Wyoming(1980), andAuburn University(1981–1992) compiling a careercollege footballrecord of 153–62–5. While the head coach at Auburn, he led the team to fourSoutheastern Conference(SEC) championships and was named theSEC Coach of the Yearthree times. He served as theathletic directorat Auburn from 1981 to 1991 and was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fameas a coach in 2005. On November 19, 2005, the playing field at Auburn'sJordan-Hare Stadiumwas named "Pat Dye Field" in his honor.

Playing career

Dye playedhigh school footballfrom 1954 to 1956 at Richmond Academy inAugusta, Georgia,where he was selected All-American and All-State while leading the team to the 1956 3A state championship, serving as team captain. He placed second in the state tournament in shot-put and javelin, on the state championship track team. Following this success,The Atlanta Journal-Constitutionselected Dye as Georgia's 3A Lineman of the Year for 1956 before being recruited to theUniversity of Georgiawhere he followed his older brothers, Wayne and Nat.

While playing for theBulldogsfrom 1957 to 1960 under head coachWally Butts,Dye was a first-team All-SEC lineman and two-time All-American (1959 and 1960). He was a two-way starter at offensive guard and linebacker, SEC Lineman of the Year in 1960, team co-captain in 1960, won the William K. Jenkins Award for the Most Valuable Lineman (1959, 1960), and the JB Whitworth Award for the Outstanding Georgia Lineman 1960. He helped lead the team to the SEC Championship and the Orange Bowl in 1959, undefeated as a player against Georgia Tech. He played in 3 All-Star games: the Blue Gray Classic, Senior Bowl, and Coaches All-American Game in 1960. The Atlanta Touchdown Club named him the SEC's Most Valuable Lineman in 1960 where he served as co-captain with friend and NFL Hall of FamerFran Tarkenton.

Upon graduation from Georgia, Dye played three years of professional football as a two-way starter at tight end andlinebackerfor theEdmonton Eskimosin theCanadian Football League.He then served from 1963-1964 in the US Army to fulfill an ROTC obligation where he played for the Ft. Benning 'Doughboys'. While playing there he received the Timmy Award for Armed Services Most Valuable Player in 1964.

Coaching career

Alabama

Dye's first coaching job came as an assistant coach at theUniversity of Alabamain 1965, underBear Bryant.Dye served as a defensive assistant at Alabama through the 1973 season.

East Carolina

Dye moved into his first head coaching job atEast Carolina Universityin 1974. Over six seasons, he achieved a record of 48–18–1. He guided thePiratesto the Southern Conference championship in 1976 and posted at least seven wins in all six seasons in Greenville. In 2006, Dye was inducted into the East Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame. As of 2006, his 72.4% win rate is the second highest of any coach in East Carolina University history.

Wyoming

In 1980, Dye took over for one season as head coach at theUniversity of Wyoming.In the decade prior to his arrival, theCowboyshad had only one winning season (winning 35% of their games). In Dye's first year, he changed the culture into a winning program going 6–5 and paving the way for future success under coachesAl Kincaid(Dye's offensive coordinator) andDennis Erickson.In an interview many years later, Dye revealed that the athletic administration at Wyoming failed to have him sign his contract when they hired him. Consequently, whenAuburnhired Dye to be their new head coach, Wyoming had no recourse to demand compensation for Auburn hiring him away.

Auburn

During Dye's interview for the head coaching job at Auburn, he was asked by a member of the search committee, "How long will it take you to beat Alabama?" Dye's reply was "60 minutes," although it took him 120 minutes.At Auburn, Dye achieved a record of 99–39–4 (71.1% win rate) over 12 seasons. His 99 wins are behind onlyMike DonahueandRalph Jordanfor the most in school history. Under Dye's leadership, theTigerswon fourSoutheastern Conferencechampionships (1983, 1987, 1988, 1989) and Dye became the fourth coach in SEC history to win three straight (1987, 1988, 1989). He received SEC Coach of the Year honors in 1983, 1987 and 1988. Dye was also Auburn'sathletic directorfrom 1981 to 1991, a perk Ralph "Shug" Jordan did not enjoy during his 25-year tenure (1951–75), which saw thestadiumnamed in his honor.

Dye coached 1985Heisman TrophywinnerBo Jackson,as well asTracy Rocker,winner of both theOutland Trophyand theLombardi Awardin 1988. The 1983 team, led by quarterbackRandy Campbelland a stifling defense, is generally considered Dye's best. They bounced back from an early season loss to Texas to win 10 consecutive games, including five over bowl teams. Auburn was ranked #1 in the nation by the New York Times at the end of the 1983 season but ended up #3 in the AP and UPI polls, behind Miami and Nebraska.

Dye's tenure on the Plains ended due to an NCAA investigation involving a member of the team. The NCAA found that Dye was not personally responsible for rules violations, but that he should have known about and prevented them. The fallout from the investigation eventually led Dye to step down as Athletic Director in 1991, and as head coach the following year.

On November 19, 2005, the playing surface atJordan–Hare Stadiumat Auburn was named Pat Dye Field in the former coach's honor. The dedication ceremony was held immediately before theIron Bowl,which Auburn went on to win 28–18. This was especially appropriate since Dye led the Tigers to a 30–20 victory over the Tide on December 2, 1989, in the first installment of the Iron Bowl, to be played at Auburn after 41 consecutive meetings atLegion FieldinBirmingham.The permanent move of Auburn's home games against Alabama to Jordan–Hare Stadium is considered one of Dye's most important achievements as AU's Athletic Director. Dye's tenure was also notable for the November 27, 1982 victory over arch-rival Alabama, when Dye's team defeated Alabama 23–22 in Bryant's last regular-season game. That game snapped a 9-game Tide winning streak and reignited the rivalry.

Writing

Dye's autobiography,In The Arena,written with John Logue, was published in 1992. In September 2006, Dye partnered with publisher Mascot Books to release his first children's book,War Eagle!Dye's third book,After The Arena,published in 2013, details his life after leaving coaching in 1992.

Life after coaching

During the latter part of his life, Dye spent most of his time on his farm inNotasulga, Alabama,where he was involved in the day-to-day activities of his two businesses: Crooked Oaks Hunting Preserve and Quail Hollow Gardens Japanese Maple Farm & Nursery. Many activities on his farm are made available to the public, including horse boarding and trail rides, quail hunts, and garden tours. Dye's family includes 4 children and 9 grandchildren.

In 2005, Dye was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. In 2014, he was inducted into the Georgia-Florida Hall of Fame.

From 2013 until 2020, Dye hosted "The Coach Pat Dye Show" with co-host Tim Ellen and producer Lynn Huggins. The show was a weekly sports interview and opinion program that aired on radio stations around the southeast, online and on tune-in radio.

Death

On May 21, 2020, Dye was hospitalized inAtlantaforkidney-related problems.He was also diagnosed withCOVID-19but was asymptomatic.He died at a hospice care facility in Auburn on June 1, 2020, from kidney and liver failure complications.

Head coaching record

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs	Coaches#	AP°
East Carolina Pirates(Southern Conference)(1974–1976)
1974	East Carolina	7–4	3–3	T–3rd
1975	East Carolina	8–3	4–2	2nd
1976	East Carolina	9–2	4–1	1st
East Carolina Pirates(NCAA Division I / I-A independent)(1977–1979)
1977	East Carolina	8–3
1978	East Carolina	9–3			WIndependence
1979	East Carolina	7–3–1
East Carolina:		48–18–1	11–6
Wyoming Cowboys(Western Athletic Conference)(1980)
1980	Wyoming	6–5	4–4	T–5th
Wyoming:		6–5	4–4
Auburn Tigers(Southeastern Conference)(1981–1992)
1981	Auburn	5–6	2–4	T–6th
1982	Auburn	9–3	4–2	T–3rd	WTangerine	14	14
1983	Auburn	11–1	6–0	1st	WSugar	3	3
1984	Auburn	9–4	4–2	T–3rd	WLiberty	14	14
1985	Auburn	8–4	3–3	5th	LCotton
1986	Auburn	10–2	4–2	T–2nd	WFlorida Citrus	8	6
1987	Auburn	9–1–2	5–0–1	1st	TSugar	7	7
1988	Auburn	10–2	6–1	T–1st	LSugar	7	8
1989	Auburn	10–2	6–1	T–1st	WHall of Fame	6	6
1990	Auburn	8–3–1	4–2–1	4th	WPeach	19	19
1991	Auburn	5–6	2–5	8th
1992	Auburn	5–5–1	2–5–1	5th(West)
Auburn:		99–39–4	48–27–3
Total:		153–62–5
National championshipConference titleConference division title or championship game berth
#Rankings from finalCoaches Poll. °Rankings from finalAP Poll.

See also

• Legends Poll

External links

• Pat Dyeat theCollege Football Hall of Fame