Auburn, Ala (EETV)- Former Auburn football coach and athletic director Patrick Fain Dye passed away this morning. He was 80 years old.
Dye was hospitalized last month with kidney-related issues when he also tested positive for coronavirus. His son, Pat Dye Jr., reported that he was asymptomatic.
During his 12 years with the program, Dye led the Tigers to a 99-39-4 record, winning six bowl games. He won four SEC championships, along with being named SEC coach of the year three times.
In 2005, Dye was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The same year, Auburn's field in Jordan-Hare Stadium was named after him.
Dye is responsible for bringing the Iron Bowl to Auburn. From 1948 to 1989, the Iron Bowl had only been played in Birmingham. Against Alabama, Dye guided the Tigers to a 6-6 record.
Dye's teams throughout the years were full of award-winning athletes. He coached Bo Jackson as a Heisman winner and Tracy Rocker as an Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award winner, along with 21 All-Americans and 71 All-SEC players.
In February of this year, the Auburn Board of Trustees unanimously voted to approve the Auburn Athletics department’s request to commission a statue of Pat Dye along with Ralph "Shug" Jordan and Cliff Hare.
Dye was born Nov. 6,1939. He was a two-time All-American at the University of Georgia where he started as a guard and linebacker. He played in the Canadian Football League for three years as an Edmonton Eskimo before two years in the U.S. Army. His first coaching job came in 1965 at the University of Alabama under Bear Bryant. Dye also coached at East Carolina and Wyoming before making it to the Plains. His college football coaching record is 153-62-5. Dye is survived by four children and nine grandchildren.
