[5] He was a key two-way lineman during the team's 1918 season when the Yellow Jackets finished first in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) with a win–loss record of 6–1.

[5][6] Day's selection by Walter Camp as a first-team All-American was a historic first; he was the first Southerner to be chosen for Camp's annual All-America first team, which had been historically loaded with college players from Harvard, Yale, Princeton and other Northeastern colleges.

Day was recognized as a first-team All-Southern selection by the Atlanta Constitution and several other major newspapers following his 1920 and 1921 seasons playing for the Georgia Bulldogs.

[10] He was nominated, though not selected, for an Associated Press All-Time Southeast 1869–1919 era team.

[11] Buck Cheves said "I never saw a better center than Bum Day...He would snap the ball and then make the tackle on kicks".