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Former Southern Miss Football Player and Supporter Pat Ferlise Passes Away
The 1951-52 letterwinner also gave back generously to the University following his playing days.
Pat Ferlise

Pat Ferlise

April 29, 2009

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The University of Southern Mississippi lost a great friend Wednesday morning with the passing of Pat Ferlise at his Sarasota, Fla., home after a lengthy illness.

"Pat Ferlise was the true `rock' and giant of Southern Miss athletics," said Southern Miss Director of Athletics Richard Giannini. "He was the first Southern Miss athlete to make a major gift to our athletic program as he had an incredible love for the University and to this athletics program. He will truly be missed and our thoughts and prayers go out to Rosalie, his three sons and their families."

Ferlise, a football letterwinner from 1951-52 as a two-way guard, was an outstanding athlete who earned all-state honors at Phillips High School in Birmingham, Ala., and played in the first-ever Alabama high school all-star football game before signing a scholarship with Auburn. He transferred to Jones Junior College at Ellisville, Miss., before coming to Southern Miss.

The 1951 team that Ferlise played on finished with a 6-5 record, but the defense he spearheaded recorded three shutouts and eight times that year held their opponents to 14 points or less. The team captured the Gulf States Conference Championship.

The 1952 team enjoyed one of the better seasons in Southern Miss football history. After dropping the first game of the season to Alabama, 20-6, the team won its next 10 games to finish the regular season with a 10-1 mark. They earned a berth to the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, where they lost to the College of the Pacific, 26-7, and end the year 10-2.

That 1952 team was an outstanding defensive squad as well, recording two shutouts and six times holding the opposition to 14 points or less.

Although few defensive statistics were kept back then, Ferlise would have been one of the team's leaders in tackles and tackles for a loss. Ferlise's aggressive style of play and quickness made him one of the school's great defensive linemen.

Following his stellar career at Southern Miss, Ferlise continued to make great contributions to the University of Southern Mississippi.

 

 

In 1994, he donated $100,000 to the USM Eagle Club to fully fund a football scholarship annually for a defensive lineman. The gift was the largest ever, fully funded contribution to the Eagle Club for an athletic scholarship and the first established by a Southern Miss letterman.

Ferlise and his family then gave a gift of $250,000 in 1995 to build a new athletic ticket complex, which now bears his name, The Pat Ferlise Center. The new facility houses the Eagle Club fund raising arm of the athletic department, along with the complete athletic ticket operation.

Ferlise was a founding member to the Southern Miss Circle of Champions program, a member of the first board of directors of the USM Athletic Foundation which, was established in 2001, and was later voted a lifetime board member.

Ferlise is survived by his wife, Rosalie, and three sons, Felix, Milton and Steve, along with several grandchildren. Ferlise was 80.

The funeral will be held at St. Patrick's Catholic Church on May 6, at 11 a.m. ET. The Toale Brothers Funeral Home in Sarasota (941-955-4171) is in charge of the arrangements. More information on visitation will be released when it becomes available.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to the Southern Miss Athletic Foundation/Pat Ferlise Endowment. The address is P.O. Box 15458, Hattiesburg, MS 39404.