The Auburn Tigers have announced the death of longtime radio broadcaster Paul Ellen after spending a massive portion of his life as part of the radio team on The Plains.

Ellen contributed to Tigers broadcasts for 50 years, largely on football and baseball broadcasts.

“For five decades, Paul was a trusted voice of the Auburn radio broadcast team,” the announcement read. “He will forever be a part of the Auburn Family. We offer our condolences to the entire Ellen family.”

Hosting Auburn’s football broadcasts for more than 30 years, Ellen was also a key part of the tailgate show, the halftime and the postgame shows as Tigers fans became familiar with his voice over the years, win or lose.

“He was with us on that journey to our first World Series in a long time, so just a good friend,” Auburn baseball coach Butch Thompson said this week when talking about Ellen at a news conference. “All these relationships are not built when they’ve got a microphone in your face. Those relationships are built when you’re eating or in the hotel, or just spending some time together.”