Pat Dye’s time on the gridiron at Augusta’s Richmond Academy as a guard and linebacker was the beginning of his long and successful career in football. In 1956, he became the AJC Class 3A Lineman of the Year and led his team to a Class 3A championship where he recorded a game-clinching sack against Northside-Atlanta’s Stan Gann for the 13-7 upset-victory over Wayman Creel’s top-ranked Tigers. He went on to play at the collegiate level at the University of Georgia where he became an All-American selection and member of the 1959 SEC championship team. During his time at Georgia, he went undefeated against rival Georgia Tech and was named a first-team All-SEC player as a lineman. Dye would then go on to play for the Edmonton Eskimos in the CFL and the Ft. Benning ‘Doughboys’ while serving in 1963-64 to fulfill an ROTC obligation. Following his accomplishments as a player, he turned to what he is best known for, coaching college football. He was the linebackers coach at Alabama, and head coach of East Carolina, Wyoming, and most notably Auburn. As the head coach of Auburn for 12 seasons, he was a four-time SEC champion and three-time SEC Coach of the Year. Dye passed away in 2020 at age 80.
