Pat Mitchell (2005) - Hall of Fame

Pat Mitchell

Induction:
2005
Class:
1963

Pat Mitchell, a former rough and tough tight end for the Panthers, has made a name for himself as more than just a former all-conference selection. He is best known for guiding more than 1,300 football players through the ranks of Cedar Falls (Iowa) High School.

A prep standout at Osage (Iowa) High School, Mitchell started his collegiate career at UNI in 1958. Under the watchful eyes of coaches Bill Hammer and Stan Sheriff, Mitchell became a three-year starter as a tight end and defensive end between 1959 and 1962. He was named all-conference in 1962.

After graduation in 1963 with degrees in business education and physical education, Mitchell landed a job in Bakersfield, Calif., as an assistant football and wrestling coach. He then returned to the Midwest to Kenosha, Wis. He lasted a year there before an opportunity presented itself back in Cedar Falls. MitchellÕs former coach at UNI, Ed Lyons, had taken a job as head coach at Cedar Falls High School and asked Mitchell if he would be his assistant. Mitchell couldnÕt resist and after two years, Lyons took an administrative position and handed the head job over to Mitchell in 1967.

It didn't take Mitchell long to turn the Cedar Falls Tigers into a dominant program. In 1972, he led them to an undefeated regular season, a conference championship and a playoff berth. The 1972 season would be the first of no less than 18 playoff appearances, four state final appearances (1982, 1986, 1999 and 2005) and one state championship in 1986. Mitchell has had 36 winning seasons in his 40 years coaching. He has won the Big 8 and Missouri Valley Coach of the Year awards too many times to count. He earned Iowa Football Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors in 1999, and Des Moines Register Coach of the Year accolades in 1986. He compiled more than 250 wins at CFHS, which ranked him in the top 10th all-time in Iowa high school history.

Mitchell has coached countless all-staters, five high school All-Americans and five athletes who eventually played in the pros. Mitchell has mentored more than 85 assistant coaches, several of whom now are head coaches. It is estimated he taught more than 20,000 students as a physical education and driver's education teacher. Along with football, he coached the men's and women's golf teams for more than 30 years at Cedar Falls.