Thanks for the Hope, Coach Hep. You Will Be Missed.

From the Indy Star: IU football coach Hoeppner dies

I was surprised and saddened to learn today that Indiana University football coach Terry Hoeppner, who had been battling brain cancer, has died at the age of 59.

As a Hoosier Fan in Texas, it was hard to follow along with what was happening during Coach Hep's first months. I remember a visit to Bloomington to see my parents and seeing billboards and signs with Hep posed as Uncle Sam calling on the students to support the team. I thought it was great but pessimistic that it would help much.

It did. Coach Hep got me.

While his 9-14 doesn't look all that impressive, he may go down in IU history as one of the program's best coaches. His passion for the game rubbed off on his players, the students, the alumni, and me. When available on TV (and surprisingly, I was watching IU football on TV), I could see IU football playing with more aggression and fun over the past two years. Yeah, the team still lost lots of games, but I could see a change occurring, one that gave me hope for the future, hope that at the very least, IU would be competitive in every game.

Here are a couple of items that sum up Coach Hep:

From the Official press release:

Hoeppner made an immediate impact in his first year at the helm of the Hoosier program. In addition to leading Indiana to its first 4-1 start since 1994, Hoeppner rejuvenated an IU fan base that enjoyed a 39-percent increase in per-game attendance, a 46-percent increase in overall season ticket sales and a 110-percent increase in student season ticket sales.

He not only helped generate a buzz about Indiana football, but he and his staff also installed an aggressive, big-play defense to go along with an exciting spread offense that threw a school-record 24 touchdown passes.

Furthermore, Hoeppner helped establish new IU football traditions. Two hours prior to each home game, fans and players engaged in "The Walk," as Indiana coaches and players marched through the tailgating areas en route to the "crimson gates" at Memorial Stadium. Hoeppner also dubbed Memorial Stadium "The Rock," a nod to the stadium's limestone construction. A three-ton remnant from the original stadium construction was placed near the north end zone, as the IU coaches now challenge the Hoosiers to "defend the rock." Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the coaches and players join The Marching Hundred band to sing the school fight song after every home victory.

From Brian Janosch, 21, an Indiana University senior and former sports editor at the student newspaper The Indiana Daily Student:

In one year, just one year, he turned the attitude around here from "Who cares," to "You know what, maybe there's a chance." And that's all we could ask for having not visited a bowl game in more than a decade.

Thanks for the memories, the fun, and the hope, Coach Hep. You will be missed.