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Auburn Honors Former Coach with On-Field Sponsorship
Auburn Tigers head coach Pat Dye on the sideline during the game against Alabama Crimson Tide at Legion Field. Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images RVR Photos-Imagn Images

Auburn Honors Former Coach with On-Field Sponsorship

Originally posted on Auburn Tigers on SI
By Gunner Norene  |  Last updated Aug 20, 2025 8:30 PM ET

AUBURN, Ala.-- In a week loaded with announcements and news from the athletic department, the Auburn Tigers have released yet another development.

Auburn Athletics announced Wednesday that Jordan-Hare Stadium will now feature a tribute to former head coach and Auburn legend Pat Dye on the 25-yard line, courtesy of a new five-year partnership with YellaWood.

Appearing for the first time against Ball State in a few weeks, the words “Pat Dye Field" will accompany a slightly smaller YellaWood yellow logo just below. The on-field display is reported to be 18 feet high and 21 feet wide.

“When the opportunity arose to do it, I knew I did not want that sacred field to be just used for a commercial,” YellaWood founder and Auburn alumnus Jimmy Rane said in a release. “I didn’t want it to just be some company’s name on there. If we were going to do this, I wanted to make sure it first and foremost honored Coach Dye and that our name was smaller, lower and under his – because it’s Pat Dye Field.”

Rane and Dye were close friends and business associates for about 40 years, starting when Dye was hired at Auburn in 1981 and continuing until he passed in 2020. Founding Great Southern Wood in 1970, Rane is also a long-time member of Auburn University’s Board of Trustees, and serves as a heavy donor to the school.

Jordan-Hare’s playing surface has officially been named “Pat Dye Field” since 2005, when Dye was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He posted a 99-39-4 overall record during his 12-year tenure with the Tigers, leading Auburn to four Southeastern Conference championships and a recently-claimed 1983 national championship.

“Pat Dye revolutionized Auburn Athletics,” Rane said, recalling Dye’s 1981 introductory news conference. “He left no doubt about what he was about and what he intended to do.”

“His players loved him and the fans loved him because you knew he was tough, but you knew he also loved you and he loved Auburn,” Rane added.

Current Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze commented on the new sponsorship and recognized Dye’s highly-revered legacy at Auburn.

“For my people my age, Coach Dye put this program on the map of what it could become,” Freeze said. “The way he led men and the stories you hear from his players, he developed Auburn men. He’s simply a legend.”

Along with the tribute to Dye, the deal with YellaWood will also provide Auburn with assistance regarding the fresh revenue-sharing era while simultaneously helping to elevate the Tigers’ student athletes.

“We are profoundly grateful to Jimmy Rane and YellaWood for honoring Coach Dye and supporting Auburn Athletics in this innovative manner,” athletics director John Cohen said. “To Jimmy and to Auburn, this is so much more than a sponsorship agreement.”

Fans will have the opportunity to witness the program’s first-ever on-field corporate sponsorship for the first time on Sept. 6 when the Tigers host Ball State for Kickoff on the Plains under the lights.

More From Auburn Tigers on SI


This article first appeared on Auburn Tigers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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