RICHMOND, Ky. (LEX 18) — Hundreds of people came together on the Eastern Kentucky University campus on Sunday for the visitation of coach Roy Kidd.
Kidd passed away on Tuesday at 91 years old. He served as head football coach at EKU for 39 years.
His former athletes, colleagues, family and friends filed in and out of the EKU Center for the Arts throughout Sunday afternoon.
For many, it served as a reunion of former teammates.
Dale Patton was a fullback on Kidd's championship-winning 1979 team and was later inducted into the EKU Hall of Fame.
"[Kidd] helped us become men, helped us become a family, helped us work together," Patton said.
Patton was able to meet up with other former athletes, like Stanley Mitchell, reminiscing about their time on Kidd's team.
“The memories just keep coming back, the friendships—it's not about some of the records, it’s just the friendships he helped us develop and the family organization, the atmosphere he created. We used to stay at the same dorm, we ate together, we did a lot of things together,” Patton explained.
Many of the players had not seen each other in years, some flying in from across the country to say their final goodbyes as Kidd is laid to rest.
"It just took a man like Coach Kidd to bring us back together," Mitchell said.
Roy Kidd's funeral is scheduled for Monday at the EKU Center for the Arts at 11 a.m. A private burial will follow.
