From small-town Kansas and suiting up to play football for the Dodge City Community College Conquistadors to the College Football Hall of Fame – former Conq and former longtime TCU Head Coach, Gary Patterson, has been selected to the National Football Foundation (NFF) College Football of Fame as part of the 2026 class. 
 
Patterson, who led the TCU Horned Frogs for 21 seasons, will not only be joining the college football Hall of Fame in 2026 but will also be returning to a more prominent coaching role this year, as he will be the new defensive coordinator for the University of Southern California Trojans. 
 
He got his college football start in Dodge City playing for the Conquistadors in 1978-79, suiting up on defense, playing safety, and linebacker. He later transferred to Kansas State to play and then transitioned to coaching. 
 
The Rozel, Kansas native is part of a 22-member 2026 Hall of Fame class that is comprised of 18 former players and four coaches. Patterson is the winningest coach in TCU football history, earning 181 wins in 22 seasons with a nearly 70% win percentage. He guided the Horned Frogs to 18 bowl appearances, highlighted by victories in the 2011 Rose Bowl and 2014 Peach Bowl. Patterson led TCU to six conference titles over three conferences: Conference USA (2002), Mountain West (2005, 209, 2010, 2011), and the Big 12 (2014), and was selected as Coach of the Year four times over the three conferences. He coached 90 first-team all-conference selections, 20 first-team All-Americans, and had 49 players drafted by the NFL as TCU's head coach. 
 
During his coaching career, he had assistant jobs at Tennessee Tech, UC Davis, Cal Lutheran, Pittsburg State (KS), Sonoma State (CA), Utah State, Navy, New Mexico, and TCU. 
Patterson, after his departure from TCU, spent time at Texas and Baylor as a special assistant/consultant before returning to the coaching ranks as the defensive coordinator at USC to open the 2026 year. 
 
He now looks to bring his defensive knowledge back to the sideline as defensive coordinator at USC, taking on that role in January 2026. Patterson over his time as head coach at TCU and as an assistant at several stops, coached several Top 10 defenses in multiple categories, including leading the NCAA three consecutive seasons in total defense from 2008-2010. Overall, while at TCU, his defenses led the nation in total defense five times. 
 
His Hall of Fame induction into the NFF College Football Hall of Fame comes after being selected to the TCU Athletics Hall of Fame and receiving the Davey O'Brien Legends Award in 2025.