Pat Dye

PAT DYE NAMED ALABAMA FOOTBALL LEGEND

MONTGOMERY – One of the most colorful coaches in the history of college football, Pat Dye has been named the recipient of the 2015 Raycom Media Camellia Bowl Alabama Football Legend Award, presented by Regions Bank.

“We are honored to recognize Coach Pat Dye, one of the true coaching legends in the nation,” Raycom Media Camellia Bowl Executive Director Johnny Williams said. “Coach Dye played at The University of Georgia and made his mark as an assistant coach at The University of Alabama and then as head coach at Auburn University. We are pleased to present Coach Dye with this year’s award.”

“We are thrilled to continue our affiliation with the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl and to once again proudly sponsor the Regions Bank Alabama Football Legends Luncheon,” Regions Central Alabama President Sean Johnson said. This year’s honoree, Coach Pat Dye, personifies football in this state as evidenced by his long, successful career.”

Dye will be honored at the 2015 Raycom Media Camellia Bowl luncheon, which will be held Friday, Dec. 18 at the Renaissance Hotel in Montgomery, Alabama. Tickets for the luncheon are on sale through the Camellia Bowl website (www.camelliabowl.com).

Dye compiled a 153-62-5 (.707) record in 19 seasons at East Carolina, Wyoming and Auburn. He posted a 48-18-1 (.724) record in six seasons at East Carolina (1974-79). He led the Pirates to the 1976 Southern Conference Championship with a 9-2 overall record. He also led the Pirates to the school’s first ever bowl appearance in the 1978 Independence Bowl. East Carolina defeated Louisiana Tech 35-13 on Dec. 16, 1978.  In his one year at Wyoming in 1980, he led them to their first winning season in nine years.

“We had a great run during the 1980’s and Auburn was named ‘Team of the Decade’.  The state of Alabama is passionate about college football and I appreciate the efforts of Raycom Media and Johnny Williams and his staff for their efforts in promoting college football at the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl in Montgomery. I know from experience that it will mean just as much to the teams participating, as the bowl games that will be played on New Year’s Day mean to those teams.”

Dye is best known for his 12-year tenure at Auburn, where he led the Tigers to a 99-39-4 (.711) from 1981-92. He led the Tigers to four SEC Championships during his time. In 1982, he led Auburn to a 23-22 win over Alabama to snap the Crimson Tide’s nine-game series winning streak. He led the Tigers to an 11-1 record in 1983 and the school’s first SEC Championship since 1957. He coached Bo Jackson, the 1985 Heisman Trophy winner. Dye led the Tigers to three straight SEC titles form 1987-89, leading AU to a 29-5-2 (.708) record during those three seasons.

Perhaps his crowning moment came when he moved the Iron Bowl to Auburn for the first time on Dec. 2, 1989. Auburn beat Alabama 30-20 in the first meeting at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The 2015 Raycom Media Camellia Bowl will be played on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 4:30 p.m. (CDT). The game will be televised by ESPN. The Raycom Media Camellia Bowl will be one of five bowl games to air on ESPN networks on the opening day of the college football bowl season.

Tickets to the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl are on sale via the internet www.espnevents.com/camellia-bowl/tickets/. Tickets are $25 for reserved seats and $20 for general admission seating.

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ESPN Media Contact: Rachel Margolis Siegal at 860-766-2798 or [email protected]