Pat Dye Memorial, Social Justice Patch for Auburn Football

On January 4, 1981, Auburn introduced a new head football coach following the difficult Doug Barfield era in which the Tigers went 27-27-1.

The new man for the job, Patrick Fain Dye, was the perfect fit at Auburn. Despite his All-American offensive and defensive play at Georgia in the 1950s, Pat Dye quickly fell in love with Auburn.

And Auburn quickly fell in love with Dye.

In that introduction press conference just days after New Year’s, Dye was asked about the eight-year losing streak to arch-rival Alabama. When a reporter asked, “how long will it take for you to beat Alabama?” Dye showed his quick wit in his response:

“Sixty minutes.”

Good look at the PD decal on the helmet of J.J. Pegues. (image via Sara Palczewski, OANews)

Pat Dye didn’t back down to the historic names and programs in the Southeastern Conference. Especially not Bear Bryant. His mentality and coaching ability won the favor of many around the league and the fans of his Tigers football team.

Pat Dye passed away on June 1, 2020, at the age of 80.

Following the delayed start of collegiate sports, Auburn debuted a memorial logo in Dye’s honor on Friday. The design features Dye’s initials, “sixty” and “minutes” around the top and bottom, and sixty orange and blue stripes on the outline, both in reference to the coach’s often-quoted line.

Pat Dye’s oldest child, Pat Dye Jr., assisted in the creation of the design.

The new design was worn on the back of the helmets as a decal. It replaced the Rod Bramblett decal that was worn in the same spot throughout the 2019 season.

The PD logo was also placed on the field, opposite of the SEC logo on the 25-yard lines. The field at Jordan-Hare Stadium also featured Pat Dye’s name back in 2005, when the playing surfaced was renamed in his honor.

Pat Dye Field has remained free of additional designs, minus the occasional ribbons, over the years. The SEC logo was first added in 2007 with the league’s 75th anniversary. Auburn celebrated the school’s 150th anniversary with the special logo on the field in 2006. Other than Dye’s name in 2005, Auburn has never honored a single person, let alone memorialize their passing, on the hallowed field at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

In addition to the announced memorials, the current Auburn football head coach broke out his own surprise to honor Coach Dye.

Gus Malzahn pulling out his best Pat Dye impression. (image via John Reed, USA Today)

Gus Malzahn walked out onto the field for pre-game warmups sporting a classic Dye sideline look – throwback ballcap, short-sleeved button-up shirt, orange and blue tie, navy slacks, and white sneakers.

Malzahn skipped his own trademark apparel approach of a visor and sweater vest to pay tribute to Pat Dye in a special and unique way. This wasn’t the first time that Malzahn has changed his apparel to honor another coach, as he went without a visor for the 2015 game at Kentucky after Steve Spurrier announced his retirement from South Carolina.

Pat Dye sported a beautiful collection of hats during his tenure on the sidelines. They’ve been a hot commodity in recent years. A local bookstore has placed multiple orders just to keep up with the demand. Malzahn sported a fitted Under Armour hat on the sidelines, which has not been available for purchase as of yet.

Smoke Monday warms up prior to Saturday’s game against Kentucky (image via Joshua Fisher, Auburn Plainsman)

On September 10, Auburn announced the “Together We Will” initiative in response to the on-going social justice conversation in the country. The initiative’s goal is to “support and advance the Auburn Family in its quest toward positive action on diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

The launch of the initiative coincided with the launch of a t-shirt sale to raise money for the university’s scholarship fund to recruit and retain minority students. The t-shirts featured a new emblem that featured a black hand and a white hand engaging in a handshake. The logo was designed to be in the shape of a heart as well.

The launch of the Together We Will initiative included the announcement that the unity logo would be worn on Auburn uniforms during the season. When the 2020-21 athletic season kicked off on September 18 with the Auburn soccer team, the emblem was missing from the team’s kits.

When Auburn football players walked out of the tunnel for pregame warmups, the handshaking emblem was displayed on the front of the jerseys, adjacent to the SEC patch.

KJ Britt sports the new SEC Together shirt during pregame warmups. (image via Shanna Lockwood, Auburn Athletics)

The majority of football teams throughout the sport are including some form of social justice messaging on their uniforms for this season, with a myriad of approaches. Helmet decals, helmet bumpers, jersey decals. Unity. Equality. Together. The number of different approaches is equal to the number of teams taking part in the practice.

Throughout the SEC, teams will also be wearing matching t-shirts during pre-game warmups, prior to the players dressing out in uniform. The black t-shirts read “Together” with the “o” being replaced with the SEC logo. The initial release from the SEC offices states that the shirts will be worn on the first day of competition for all sports during the 2020-21 season. I expect they may be worn more than just once, however.

Those new t-shirts also coincide with a new NCAA rule that states all athletes must have their jersey numbers visible during pre-game warmups. The “Dan Mullen Rule,” as the Florida head coach referred to it, will change how some teams warm up. Florida typically does not wear jersey numbers on warmup shirts, which Mullen believes to be the reason for the rule change.

For some more thoughts on the Pat Dye logo, Gus Malzahn’s apparel choices, and the Unity patch, listen to this E2C Network podcast episode.

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Featured images via Sara Palczewski, OANews