Pat Forde is a sports journalist who is a national columnist forSports Illustrated. He previously worked forESPN,The Courier-Journal inLouisville,Kentucky, andYahoo Sports.
Forde is a native ofColorado Springs,Colorado. He currently lives in Louisville with his wife Tricia,[1] a former swimmer atNorthwestern University.[2] All three of their children were college swimmers—son Mitchell atMissouri from 2013 to 2017, another son Clayton atGeorgia from 2016 to 2020, and daughterBrooke atStanford from 2017 to 2022.[3] Brooke was a silver medalist in theTokyo Olympics in 2021 as part of the USA 4 × 200m freestyle relay team.[2]
Forde played high school football forGary Barnett during his sophomore and junior years (1980–81) atAir Academy High School in Colorado Springs.[4][5] He is a 1987 graduate of theUniversity of Missouri inColumbia,Missouri.
Forde began his career in 1987 working as a journalist forThe Courier-Journal inLouisville, where his writing won numerous awards.[6] He initially worked there as a beat reporter and then spent 12 years writing a column.
In 2004, Forde leftThe Courier-Journal to join ESPN full-time after freelancing for their website for about seven years.[1] During the NCAA football season, Forde wrote a column called "Forde Yard Dash", and during the NCAA basketball season, he wrote a column called "Forde Minutes". He also appeared on ESPN radio and television.
On November 1, 2011, after the expiration of his contract, Forde left ESPN to pursue a career withYahoo Sports.[7] There, he resumed his weekly "Forde Yard Dash" and, later, his "Forde Minutes" column as well.
On October 29, 2019, Forde joinedSports Illustrated as its new senior college sports writer. He continues to write both "Forde-Yard Dash" and "Forde Minutes" forSI.[8]
Forde has a nationally known feud withAuburn University, specifically with the university's men's basketball coachBruce Pearl. Forde's excessive criticism of Pearl has led many fans and Sports Illustrated readers to assume that Forde has an unhealthy dislike for Pearl. Such articles have caused a plethora of Auburn fans, specifically those that areX users, to retaliate to Forde's writings with an assorted bombardment ofmemes.[9]
In 2008, Forde served as the co-author forUniversity of Louisville basketball coachRick Pitino'sRebound Rules: The Art of Success 2.0.[10]