Dye once wrote of Crooked Oaks, “The good Lord created it, and then I just put a few touches on it, so I can enjoy it and appreciate it. Because no one can paint a picture like Mother Nature.”

The first time N.L. Hart drove through the gate at Crooked Oaks, past stands of Japanese maples, a tranquil pond and a wide-open, big-sky horse pasture, her mind raced with ideas for the property’s future.

“I’d seen pictures, but getting into the building and looking around, I thought, ‘OK, this can be done. We can do this,” Hart recalled. “It was just creativity running wild. When it comes to the possibilities for Crooked Oaks, we and our guests are only limited by our imagination.”

Hart joined Auburn University’s College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment (CFWE) in September to manage the 415-acre site in ways that not only support hands-on learning experiences for students but also honor the legacy of the property’s former owner, late Auburn football coach Pat Dye.

As head coach from 1981-92, Dye led the Tigers to four Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships, won SEC Coach of the Year three times and was named National Coach of the Year in 1983.