Nov. 25, 1992

Pat Dye was born in rural Blythe, Georgia, the third of four children. He played lineman at the University of Georgia, where he was a two-time All-American, first-team All SEC and named the SEC’s most valuable lineman in 1960 by the Atlanta Touchdown Club. He played three seasons in the Canadian Football League and served two years in the U.S. Army before securing a position on the staff of University of Alabama coaching legend Bear Bryant. Dye helped coach the Crimson Tide from 1965 until 1973 before landing his first head coaching position at East Carolina University. From there, he moved to the University of Wyoming before taking the head coaching job at Auburn University in 1981. Dye helped return Auburn to national prominence on the gridiron. In a nine-year span from 1982 until 1990, Auburn’s .784 winning percentage (84-22-3) was the nation’s third best, and Auburn played in nine consecutive bowls, including three Sugar Bowls. During that period Dye was named SEC Coach of the Year three times. Starting in 1981, Dye also took on the role of athletic director. During his tenure, Jordan-Hare stadium was expanded to more than 85,000 seats. He resigned as athletic director in 1992 and as head football coach at the end of the 1992 season. Overall, Dye posted a 153-62-5 record in 19 years as a Division I head coach, including a 99-39-4 record in 12 seasons at Auburn. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

University of Alabama football coaches Pat Dye, left, and Paul “Bear” Bryant converse over dinner at a hunting lodge in Greene County in 1972. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of The Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of South Alabama)

Pat Dye (1939-2020 ) is a hall-of-fame college football coach who led Auburn University’s program from 1981-92, amassing a record of 99 wins, 39 losses, and 4 ties with the Tigers. His legacy includes moving Auburn’s home field during the Iron Bowl from Birmingham to Auburn in the early 1980s. Dye’s Auburn teams won four Southeastern Conference championships. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of The Birmingham News)

Pat Dye was named National Coach of the Year in 1983 and SEC Coach of the Year three times during his tenure at the helm of the Auburn Tigers football program. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of The Birmingham News)

A ceremony honors former Auburn Tigers head coach Pat Dye for his induction to the College Football Hall of Fame during the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Jordan-Hare Stadium on November 19, 2005 in Auburn, Alabama. The field at Jordan-Hare Stadium was also christened Pat Dye Field. Auburn defeated Alabama 28-18. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

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