West Virginia University Athletics

The late Dale Farley was a tremendous three-year linebacker from 1968-70, playing for coaches Jim Carlen and Bobby Bowden.
            
A native of Sparta, Tennessee, Farley teamed with All-America middle guard Carl Crennel during his junior year in 1969 to give the Mountaineers the nation’s 12th-best defense, allowing just 241 yards per game.
            
West Virginia, that year, held four opponents to a touchdown or less and produced shutout victories over VMI and William & Mary on the way to a 10-1 record and a 14-3 victory over ACC champion South Carolina in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.
            
Farley’s late interception against Syracuse in 1970 helped seal WVU’s big 28-19 victory over the Orange, and his absence in the Pitt game earlier that season was a major factor in the Mountaineers’ stunning 36-35 loss at Pitt Stadium when the Panthers overcame a 35-8 halftime deficit. 
            
He was selected to play in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, and was named to the All-East and All-South teams. The Mountaineers posted a record of 25-7 during his career. Farley is a member of the WVU All-Time Team from 1970-79.
            
Farley was named a First Team All-American by The Sporting News in 1970 and was selected in the third round of the 1971 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins (74th pick overall). He played one season for the Dolphins in 1971 before being traded to Buffalo, where he joined Mountaineer teammate Jim Braxton with the Bills. Farley played two years there and spent one season playing for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League before returning to work on his family farm in Sparta.
            
Farley passed away on June 13, 2019, in Cookeville, Tennessee. He was survived by his wife, Karen, and son, Brandon, along with grandchildren Branson Farley, Dalton Stallings and Kaytlyn Franklin. Farley was preceded in death by his daughter, Brittany Ann Farley Johnson.