6 Months After Bike Accident, Dartmouth Loses 'Coach'

Six months after Dartmouth College's head football coach Buddy Teevens was involved in a serious bike accident, the 66-year-old has died, reports CNN. "Our family is heartbroken to inform you that our beloved 'coach' has peacefully passed away surrounded by family," a statement from Teevens' family noted, per a Dartmouth release. "Unfortunately, the injuries he sustained proved too challenging for even him to overcome." Teevens was riding his bicycle on March 16 in St. Augustine, Florida, when he was hit by a pickup truck. His wife, Kirsten, had provided occasional updates on his condition, including in April, when she announced that Teevens had suffered injuries to his spinal cord and had had to have his right leg amputated.

Teevens had started out himself as a quarterback for Dartmouth, even winning the Ivy League Player of the Year honor in 1978. He also played for the school's competitve hockey team. He went on to coach his alma mater's team for 22 seasons, with a record at Dartmouth of 117-101-2; his overall head coaching record stands at 151-178-2, per CBS Sports. In their own letter, Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock and the school's athletic director, Mike Harrity, noted that Teevens was also known for trying to make the sport of football safer. "He reduced full-contact practices by focusing on technique, leading to the development at [the] Thayer School of Engineering of the Mobile Virtual Player, a robotic tackling dummy that has also been used by other college programs and NFL teams," the two wrote.

Sammy McCorkle, who's been serving as acting head coach since Teevens' accident, informed the team of Teevens' death after Tuesday's practice. The school notes that Saturday's game against Lehigh will continue as planned, and that there will be a moment of silence for the late coach, as well as a "gathering of remembrance" after the game. "Throughout this journey, we consistently relayed the thoughts, memories, and love sent his way," the Teevens family statement notes. "Your kindness and letters of encouragement did not go unnoticed and were greatly appreciated by both Buddy and our family." Teevens is survived by his wife, two children, and four grandchildren. (More Dartmouth stories.)