ATLANTA, Ga. – Longtime Morehouse College athletic director, Andre Pattillo, recently retired after nearly 40 years of dedicated service to the institution.
Pattillo first walked onto the Morehouse campus as a freshman and graduated in the class of 1979 with a bachelor of arts in business administration. As a student-athlete, Pattillo received athletic awards for four consecutive years in football, as a punter and wide receiver, and as a pitcher on the Maroon Tigers baseball team. To date, he still holds the single-season record for punting average that he set in 1975 while earning All-SIAC honors on three occasions.
As distinguished as his career was as a man of Morehouse, his career as a Morehouse Man is even more impressive.
In his professional career all but five were in the service of Morehouse:
- 1979–1985: Assistant football coach
- 1986–1996: Admissions counselor
- 1996–2000: Director of admissions
- 2000–2019: Director of athletics
While working at Morehouse, Pattillo was also recognized by the NCAA as he earned the 1999 Naismith Award as the top NCAA Basketball Official in the country. He officiated in the NCAA for more than 25 years and officiated six Final Fours and eight SEC Championship games.
Since taking over the athletics department in 2000, the Maroon Tigers have enjoyed great success including multiple cross country, tennis, and track and field conference championships, as well as a conference championship in basketball. Pattillo also coached the baseball team for two years and was named the 2005 SIAC Coach of the Year.
This past season the Maroon Tigers had an outstanding year with several teams posting impressive records under Pattillo’s administration and coaching staff:
- The basketball team finished the season 20-5 reaching a #3 national ranking during the 2018-2019 season. Coach Grady Brewer was named SIAC Coach of the Year.
- The cross country team three-seated as SIAC champions with Coach Willie Hill being named SIAC Coach of the Year.
- The football team finished in 2nd place in the Eastern Division with a 7-3 record with 11 players earning SIAC All-Conference Honors. Coach Rich Freeman was named SIAC Coach of the year.
- The track and field team finished second at the 2019 SIAC Track and Field Championships.
- The baseball team earned #8 seed in the 2019 SIAC Baseball Championship and advanced to the baseball final-four.
- The tennis team finished third at the 2019 SIAC Tennis Championships.
- The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) earned the 2019 SIAC Citizenship Award
Courtesy: Morehouse Athletics
