Terry Hoeppner dies
In some very sad news, Indiana football coach Terry Hoeppner has died.
Like many of my friends, I remember Hoeppner most for his time at Miami University, when he battled my school -- Bowling Green -- almost every season.
Hoeppner always struck me as a heck of a guy, and a great football coach. I covered two of his games my final semester in college -- both wins over BG.
After the win over BG in the 2003 MAC title game, Hoeppner made the media wait a long time to talk to him.
He wanted to take a picture of his team on the field at Doyt Perry. This irritated all of us in the media room. I remember a highly respected journalist yelling out "He's not on deadline!"
I was on deadline that night, and he put pressure on me by taking a picture. For a while, I nursed a bit of frustration from that evening. But as time passed, I realized Hoeppner wanted his kids to know how special the moment was. He likely wanted them to realize how fleeting moments like that are.
It was more than a job to Hoeppner, and I came to respect him for doing what he did that night.
Two of the coaches BGSU faced that year are gone. Northwestern's Randy Walker died last year. He led the Wildcats against BG in the Motor City Bowl in 2003.
It's just a sad thing.
Rest in peace, Mr. Hoeppner.