Indiana Coach Hoeppner Dies From Tumor

Sad, sad news today coming out of Bloomington.

Indiana football coach Terry Hoeppner died Tuesday of complications from a brain tumor. He was 59.

Hoeppner, who had two brain surgeries in the past 18 months, spent the last four months on medical leave. He died at 6:50 a.m. at Bloomington Hospital with his family at his side, school spokesman J.D. Campbell said.

Hoeppner, who went 9-14 in two seasons, had taken three medical leaves since December 2005. He hadn't been seen publicly since late February. Late last week, the school said assistant Bill Lynch would replace him as coach for the 2007 season.

In December 2005, doctors removed a tumor from his right temple a year after Greenspan hired Hoeppner

In September, a CT scan revealed another cancerous growth in the same area of Hoeppner's brain.

Hoeppner was hired in 2004 to rebuild Indiana's football program. He soon nicknamed the Hoosiers' home field "The Rock'' and then had the giant limestone boulder added to Memorial Stadium to reinforce the message.

In eight seasons as a head coach, six at Miami (Ohio), Hoeppner was 57-39, and he took Miami to consecutive bowl games in 2003 and 2004. Before that, he spent 19 seasons as an assistant at Miami (Ohio).

After the September surgery, the energetic coach, whom players often called younger than his age, returned sooner than expected. Three days after surgery, he sneaked into Indiana's coaching box at Memorial Stadium and watched the Hoosiers lose to Division I-AA Southern Illinois. Two weeks later, he resumed coaching.

Hoeppner later inferred that test results from the second surgery showed what doctors removed was only scar tissue, not cancerous, and university officials never acknowledged Hoeppner had been suffering from a terminal illness.

Hoeppner is survived by his wife, three children -- Amy, Allison and Drew -- and four grandchildren. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

Our prayers go out to the Hoeppner family and the University of Indiana football program.