A two-sport athlete with his name imprinted prominently throughout the Tennessee Tech record books, Lee Byrd more than made his mark during his time as a Golden Eagle. A four-year letter winner from 1965-68 in both cross country and track, Byrd cemented his status as one of the most decorated runners in TTU history. 

A cross country All-American in 1966, the program's first and only such honoree, Byrd was also the first runner in school history to earn All-OVC honors twice, garnering the accolade in 1965 and 1966. 

The Louisville, Ky. native was the only Golden Eagle ever to finish in the Top 10 in the OVC Cross Country Championships for three straight years, highlighted by his second-place finish in 1966, the best ever for a Tech male cross country runner at the OVC Championships until 2016. Byrd claimed a sixth-place finish in 1965 and an eighth-place mark in 1967. 

With Byrd paving the way, the Golden Eagles finished in third place as a team in both 1965 and 1966, before the team crossed greater heights with a program-record second-place finish in 1967. Tech cross country has not finished higher than third since those Byrd-led years. 

Byrd also possesses a record that displays his knack for success in Tech's own backyard. He holds the original TTU Cross Country Course record with a time of 20:51.3.

Byrd earned degrees in accounting and economics from Murray State University from 1972-73 and served as the president of Lee Byrd Tax & Business Services since its inception in 1990.