Paul Layne, an SMU alum and superfan who attended 542 straight Mustangs football games, died Monday after battling complications from a blood clot discovered about a month ago. He was 68.
A page dedicated to providing updates on Layne said he “took a sudden turn late yesterday that inevitably ended in his passing today around 12:45 p.m.”
“He was surrounded by family and passed peacefully,” read the statement on the page. “We know this is going to come as a shock to many because we had such a good week last week. God has a plan for all of us and He called Paul home.”
The SMU football team commemorated Layne and his legacy on Twitter Monday afternoon.
“SMU lost one of its biggest fans today, as SMU alum, former cheerleader and superfan Paul Layne died following a brief illness,” the team said. “Paul’s loyalty, support and commitment to SMU and our program will never be forgotten.”
Layne was a real estate agent, a flight attendant, and a mainstay when it came to SMU football games. Until this month, Layne had attended every SMU football game since 1972, when he was a freshman and cheerleader.
He attended SMU games during a pandemic in 2020, in Tokyo in 1983, and even when he had chickenpox, hiding the visible ailment by dressing in a Halloween costume.
“It’s what I do,” Layne told The Dallas Morning News in 2020.
Layne continued to do that until a blood clot caused complications in his intestines in August. He was hospitalized and placed in the ICU amid the battle, forcing the streak to end as he could not attend SMU’s season-opening win over North Texas on September 3.
Even though Layne was not there in person, he was in spirit. Friends and colleagues honored Layne by attending the game against UNT in his place.
They printed out photos of Layne, made shirts that read, “I am Paul Layne,” with pictures of Layne in the No.500 SMU jersey given to him when he passed that attendance milestone, and cheered on the Mustangs for their friend.
“It was our goal that he not miss so we gathered the troops and in his stead, we attended,” friend and colleague Melissa O’Brien told WFAA.
The SMU Mustangs have also honored Layne during their games by wearing his initials “PL” on their helmets for both the UNT game and the Lamar game this past Saturday.
Current Mustangs head coach Rhett Lashlee spoke about Layne’s passing in a tweet.
“Our hearts are broken today with the loss of Paul Layne,” Lashlee said. “He loved others, lived with an incredible passion and was without question committed to SMU. I feel honored to have known him and will always remember him.”
SMU’s next game will be on the road against Maryland on Saturday. Layne, without a doubt, would have been in attendance if he could. Still, the SMU fanbase will undoubtedly continue to feel his presence at Mustangs games.