A 600-acre retreat once owned by former Auburn Football Coach Pat Dye has sold for $6.5 million.

And its new owners have big plans for the property.

Auburn Oaks, just 15 minutes’ drive from the Loveliest Village, hit the market in June 2023.

Dye, who died in 2020, was Auburn’s head coach from 1981 through 1992, and led the Tigers to four SEC championships, coaching Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson as well as a number of All-Americans. He finished with a record 99-39-4 during 12 seasons and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

Southeastern Land Group agents Frazier Moreman and John Hardin handled the deal. Hardin said the property was bought by an entity that plans for the facility to continue running as a venue for weddings, private gatherings, and hunting, fishing and shooting.

“They have plans for bigger and better things ahead,” Hardin said. “They will probably announce their plans in the next few months. They look to add several different things, including something big for Alabama’s forestry industry.”

Though the property has had several owners since Dye, the place still retains his personal touch. The woods include seedlings from Auburn’s venerated Toomer’s Corners Oaks.

The private-gated property is dominated by a four-bedroom, four-bathroom waterfront main lodge. The home was built sometime in the 1920s as part of the Pepperell Mills residential installment in Opelika before being moved and restored in the 1980s.

The property has an additional modern three-bedroom, three-bath secondary guest lodge with a gazebo overlooking a three-acre pond.

Auburn Oaks also boasts an event center and wedding venue which can accommodate up to 300 guests.

There’s a pro shop with offices and a sporting clay course features 16 shooting stands. Auburn Oaks Farm also features a European Pheasant tower, a working dog kennel facility, quail hunting areas, a dove field, and areas for deer and turkey hunting. The forest includes a mix of upland loblolly pines, longleaf pines, and oak and maple trees

”For John and I to have been a part of this sale and to witness a property of this caliber pass to new ownership is truly special. Auburn Oaks is not just a property; it’s a piece of living history,” Moreman said.