Longtime Auburn head coach Pat Dye is dead at 80.

He had been hospitalized last month due to kidney issues.

"On behalf of our family, I want to thank all of the people from around the country who have offered their support and admiration for Dad these past several days," Dye's son, Pat Dye Jr., said in a statement. "Dad would be honored and humbled to know about this overwhelming outreach. The world has lost a pretty good football coach and a great man. He was beloved, he touched so many lives and he will be missed by many, especially our family.

In 12 seasons with the Tigers from 1981 to 1992, Dye posted a mark of 99-39-4, winning at least a share of the SEC title on four occasions. He had also served as Auburn's athletic director from 1981 to 1991.

Dye's teams were 6-6 in the Iron Bowl against archrivals Alabama with Dye instrumental in getting the annual game turned into an alternating home-and-home rather than a Crimson Tide home game each season with the first Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare coming in 1989.

"Coach Dye's impact on Auburn is endless and will stand the test of time," Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn said in a statement. "He had a great and deep love for Auburn and he displayed that affinity daily. I'm very appreciative of his support and friendship through the years. It's a sad day. Coach Dye was a treasure and will be missed. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, his former players and coaches and the entire Auburn family."

Prior to arriving at Auburn, Dye coached at East Carolina and Wyoming.

As a player, Dye spent three seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Edmonton Eskimos as a two-way player (tight end and linebacker) out of Georgia in the early 1960s.