Northwestern Football Coach Walker Dead at 52

Tragedy struck the sports world and college football last night when Northwestern head coach Randy Walker died of a heart attack at the age of 52.

Walker complained of chest pains at his home around 10 p.m and died shortly thereafter, leaving the school in a state of shock.

"I'll never forget coach Walker," kicker Joel Howells said at the news conference held on campus. "He's had a huge impact on my life the last four or five years. If you really knew him, I don't know how you wouldn't remember him. A lot of guys are still kind of in shock."

Walker was an assistant coach at North Carolina from 1978-87 and then coached running backs at Northwestern for two years before becoming head coach at Miami of Ohio, his alma mater. In nine seasons he compiled a 59-35-5 record, his .621 winning percentage the best in school history when he left.

He became the head coach at Northwestern and kept up his winning ways. He won 37 games with the Wildcats, leading them to three bowl appearances. In 2000, Northwestern shared the Big Ten Conference crown and went to the Alamo Bowl. The Wildcats also played in the 2003 Motor City Bowl and the Sun Bowl last season.

Walker was the first Northwestern coach to lead the team to six wins or more for four consecutive seasons since C.M. Hollister did it from 1899-1902.

In October of 2004, Walker checked himself into a hospital after experiencing chest pains. He was diagnosed with myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle; the condition is not a common ailment, and is usually caused by a virus.

Walker was out of the hospital in two days, and said he was taking a new approach to his diet and work schedule.

"I've really taken my doctor's orders to heart, because frankly, I want to see my grandkids someday," he said back in 2004.

Walker was an inspirational coach who could get more out of less than probably any coach in Division I-A. Northwestern isn't exactly a recruiting hotbed for football, but Walker would take guys and make them NFL-caliber players. He could be demanding, but his players worked hard and respected him. And that's about all a coach could ask for from his charges.

Walker is survived by his wife, Tamara, and two children, Abbey, 28, and Jamie, 25, who is the school's football recruiting assistant. Our heartfelt condolences and prayers go out to the Walker family.

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