BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Former Samford head football coach Pat Sullivan will be honored by John Carroll Catholic High School prior to its game against Springville Friday evening.
 
The school will be renaming its field in Sullivan's honor. The ceremony is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. on the field at John Carroll. Sullivan is a 1968 graduate of John Carroll.
 
At John Carroll, Sullivan lettered in three sports: football, basketball and baseball.  At Auburn, he set several school and NCAA records at quarterback and won the Heisman Trophy in 1971. 
 
After an NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins, Sullivan served as quarterbacks coach at Auburn, head coach at TCU and offensive coordinator at UAB before being hired as Samford's head coach in December of 2006.
 
Sullivan spent eight seasons as Samford's head football coach. He is the program's all-time leader in career wins. He led the team to four-straight winning seasons for the first time since 1999, and the Bulldogs won at least seven games for three-straight seasons for the first time since 1962.
 
In 2013, Sullivan led the Bulldogs to their first Southern Conference championship since joining the league in 2008. The team also earned the program's first bid to the NCAA Division I-FCS Playoffs since 1992.
 
In addition to his successes on the field, Sullivan excelled at developing student-athletes and making a positive impact on the lives of his players. Throughout his time on the coaching staffs at Auburn, TCU, UAB and Samford, Sullivan mentored young men for nearly 30 years.
 
During the 2014 season, Samford renamed its football field house the Sullivan-Cooney Family Field House to honor Sullivan, his wife Jean and their family.
 
Sullivan is a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame and the National High School Hall of Fame.