The Rev. Chette Williams, a longtime Auburn football chaplain, died in a boating accident, the team announced.

He was 61.

Williams served in that role for 26 seasons. According to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, he fell from his pontoon boat on Lake Martin Sunday evening. His body was found about 90 minutes later

The accident occurred near a dock at the lakeside Kowaliga Restaurant in Elmore County, Alabama.

Williams, affectionately known as Brother Chette, was a former Auburn linebacker from 1982 to 1984 who helped the Tigers win three bowl games, including the 1984 Sugar Bowl that capped a 1983 SEC championship season.

Senator Tommy Tuberville, former Auburn football coach, wrote that Williams was a “remarkable man who led hundreds of young people to the Lord over the years.”

“His leadership has been an integral part of Auburn athletics for more than two decades,” he said in a statement. “But beyond sports, Brother Chette helped athletes understand that their goal was much greater than anything they could ever achieve on the field.”

Williams was licensed as a pastor in 1987 and ordained as a priest in 1988. He received a bachelor’s degree in adult education from Auburn University in 1985 and a Master of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 1993.

Before returning to Auburn, Williams was past president of IMPACT Ministries in Spartanburg, South Carolina from 1995 to 1999, after serving as pastor of New Covenant Baptist Church in New Orleans and co-pastor of New Song Baptist Church in Mobile from 1993 to 1995. Alabama was. from 1991-93.

Williams also served as campus director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Auburn and state director for Urban Ministries at FCA.

He is survived by his daughters Lauren and Caitlyn. His son Chette Jr. predeceased him in 2019.