Auburn Tigers legend Pat Dye dies at 80 after recent hospitalization
Auburn legend and college football Hall of Famer Pat Dye died Monday. He was 80 years old.
Dye was hospitalized in recent weeks with complications regarding his kidney functions. He also tested positive for the novel coronavirus. His son, Pat Dye Jr., told ESPN that his father was asymptomatic.
Dye had been hospitalized in Atlanta, but was recently transported back to the Auburn area to be closer to his friends and family, CBS reported.
247Sports first reported news of Dye’s death.
Dye led Auburn to a 99-39-4 overall record and four SEC championships over 12 seasons as head coach from 1981-92. He has the third-most wins in Auburn football history.
Dye led Auburn to three Sugar Bowls and finished in the top 10 five times. He finished his career with a 153-62-5 record, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in December 2005.
Dye was a three-time SEC coach of the year in 1983, 1987, and 1989 and was national coach of the year in 1983.
Dye was instrumental in bringing the Iron Bowl to Auburn for the first time in 1989, a game which the Tigers won, 30-20, and is considered one of the most important events in the history of the program.
On November 19, 2005, the playing surface at Jordan–Hare Stadium at Auburn was named Pat Dye Field in the former coach’s honor. The dedication ceremony was held immediately before the Iron Bowl, which Auburn won 28–18.
“I never played with a greater football player than Pat Dye,” Frank Tarkenton, a teammate of Dye’s from his playing days at Georgia, said. “He was the ultimate teammate, and I loved the guy.”
A native of Blythe, Georgia, Patrick Fain Dye was born on November 6, 1939, in Augusta, Georgia. He played high school football at Richmond Academy in Augusta, where he was an all-state and All-American offensive lineman.
Dye played college football at Georgia from 1957 to 1960, where he was a two-time All-American and All-SEC athlete in 1959-60. Dye was a two-way starter as a senior at offensive lineman and linebacker and won SEC Lineman of the Year that season.
“It’s sad to learn of Coach Dye’s passing,” former UGA head coach and AD Vince Dooley said. “Our condolences to his family, his close associates, and friends. We competed hard as coaches but remained good friends and after football shared our love of plants, especially Japanese Maples. Pat was a solid, fundamental football coach who related well with his players. And he certainly endeared himself to the Auburn people by moving the annual Auburn-Alabama game from Birmingham to home-and-home. He will be missed by us all.”
This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 2:31 PM.
