Hall of Fame
Patton played fullback for coach Roy Kidd’s EKU Colonel football team from 1977-80 where he was a member of three All-OVC teams, including being named to the first team in 1978 and 1979. He was the starting fullback and the leading rusher in the 1979 national championship game in which Eastern crushed Lehigh 30-7 in Orlando, Florida. In the win over Lehigh, he rushed for 121 yards on 21 carries. The Colonels took the opening drive of the game and went 78 yards to pay dirt without throwing a single pass. After being named honorable mention All-America and first team all-conference in 1978, he was the top rusher for the Colonels that season when he gained 985 yards on the ground and rushed for 15 touchdowns. In the 1978 regionally televised Western Kentucky game, he was the ABC Chevrolet Player of the Game. In his four seasons as an EKU Colonel, Eastern compiled a 34-12 record and went to two straight of four consecutive national championship games while rushing for 2,396 yards and scoring 32 touchdowns. EKU finished tied for seventh in the nation in the final poll in 1978 and then third in the each of the ’79 and ’80 polls.
