CARROLLTON, Ga. - The University of West Georgia and the UWG Department of Athletics is saddened by the passing of former football coach and UWG Athletics Hall of Fame member, Bobby Pate. 

Pate, the head coach of UWG's 1982 NCAA Division III National Championship team and a 1989 inductee into the UWG Athletics Hall of Fame, passed away September 28 at the age of 87. 

West Georgia was Pate's first collegiate head coaching stop, helping the then West Georgia College Braves bring football back at the varsity level in 1981. After a 9-1 inaugural season, the team went 12-0 in 1982, defeating Augustana 14-0 on December 4, 1982, to claim the National Championship. 

Pate then coached West Georgia for two more seasons, ushering the program into the Gulf South Conference and the Division II era. Following his UWG career, Pate became the head coach at Hart County High School until his retirement in 1994. 

Prior to his coaching days, Pate was a standout halfback at South Georgia Junior College and later Presbyterian College. He was later selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Draft. 

Pate's entire 1982 National Championship team was inducted into the UWG Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022, on the 40-year anniversary of the championship.