Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Terry Hoeppner: 1947-2007

Indiana coach Terry Hoeppner, 59, died Tuesday of complications of brain cancer. He is the second Big Ten coach to die in less than a year, following the sudden death last June of Northwestern's Randy Walker, who was the first active Division I-A coach to die in 20 years. Hoeppner and Walker were friends from their days at Miami (Ohio). When Walker left Miami to take over the Northwestern program, Hoeppner, one of his assistants, took over as RedHawks' coach.

In late February, Hoeppner stopped by the NCAA's offices and discussed coaching at a basketball school, above. It was one of his last public appearances.

Indiana fans were quick in embrace Hoeppner, and the energy he brought to the program was beginning to translate into victories. Hours after Hoeppner's passing was announced, a Hoosier fan put together the YouTube tribute we have posted below.

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