Gary Patterson to Receive Davey O’Brien Legends Award
FORT WORTH, Texas (Dec. 16, 2025) – The Davey O’Brien Foundation has announced that former TCU football coach Gary Patterson is this year’s Davey O’Brien Legends Award recipient. Patterson is the second coach to be named a Legends Award recipient since the Foundation expanded the award’s criteria in 2024, alongside Mack Brown.
The Legends Award recognizes a college or professional quarterback or coach who has made a significant contribution to the game of football, distinguished himself as an extraordinary leader and demonstrated exemplary conduct both on and off the football field. Patterson will be honored at the 49th Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026.
The winningest coach in school history, Patterson served as the Horned Frogs’ head coach from 2000-21, where he compiled a record of 181–79 (.696). He won a total of 22 national coach of the year honors and guided the Horned Frogs to six conference championships, while mentoring 263 all-conference selections, 21 first-team All-Americans and 55 NFL Draft picks.
Patterson also led TCU to 11 bowl victories, including the 2011 Rose Bowl against Wisconsin (21-19) and the 2014 Peach Bowl over Ole Miss (42-3). His 2010 squad finished the season undefeated at 13-0 following the Rose Bowl win and ranked second in both major postseason polls. The 2009 Horned Frogs enjoyed a perfect 12-0 regular season and ranked No. 4 in the final BCS ranking, while the 2014 team finished sixth in the inaugural College Football Playoff selection committee.
Patterson started his TCU career as the team’s defensive coordinator from 1998-2000. He had previous assistant coaching stops at New Mexico, Navy, Utah State, Sonoma State, Pittsburgh State, Cal Lutheran, UC Davis, Tennessee Tech and Kansas State.
A native of Rozell, Kan., he played safety and linebacker at Dodge City (1978-79) and Kansas State (1980-81). Patterson received his bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1983 from Kansas State.
Patterson was inducted into the TCU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2025. He and Grammy Award-winning recording artist Leon Bridges founded The Big Good in 2020, a nonprofit that partners with local organizations working to meet critical, unmet needs across the Fort Worth region. Since its founding, The Big Good has invested more than $4 million back into the community.
Patterson is married to his wife, Kelsey, and has three sons, Josh, Cade and Blake.
The 49th Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner honoring Patterson, National Quarterback Award recipient Fernando Mendoza of Indiana University and High School Scholarship Award winner Maile Farden of Southlake Carroll High School is Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, at The Fort Worth Club. To purchase tickets or for additional information, email Trisha Branch at trisha@daveyobrien.org.
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