JC Posted June 30, 2006 Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 Northwestern University football coach Randy Walker died of an apparent heart attack Thursday night. He was 52. Jonathan Daniel/ Getty Images Walker was the first Northwestern coach to lead the school to three bowl games. Walker died after feeling chest pains around 10 p.m. at his suburban Chicago home, said Mike Wolf, the school's assistant athletic director for media services. "This is a devastating loss, not only for our athletic program, but for the entire Northwestern community," athletic director Mark Murphy said in a statement early Friday. "Randy truly embraced Northwestern and its mission, and cared deeply for his student-athletes, both on and off the field." Walker was the first Northwestern coach to lead the school to three bowl games. The Wildcats lost to UCLA 50-38 in the Sun Bowl last December. In October 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 at the time. Two months ago, Northwestern gave Walker a four-year extension through the 2011 season. He joined the school in 1999 after nine years at Miami of Ohio. Walker's Wildcats posted 37 wins, going 7-5 last season. Northwestern shared the Big Ten title in 2000 and went to the Alamo Bowl. The Wildcats also went to the 2003 Motor City Bowl. Walker was the first Wildcats coach to guide the team to four seasons with at least six wins since C.M. Hollister in 1899-1902. He is survived by his wife, Tamara, and two children, Abbey, 28, and Jamie, 25, who is the school's football recruiting assistant. The university will conduct a news conference Friday at 10 a.m. ET. This was probably Troy's only claim to fame besides Ryan Brewer...it's sad to see this man go..he turned that program out to be pretty damn good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengaldee Posted June 30, 2006 Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 I met Walker back when he coached for Miami Ohio.It was a coaches clinic for H.S. coaches.He was really a smart coach and really enjoyed talking to him .He will be missed and is a sad day for college football.My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WhoDeyForever Posted July 1, 2006 Report Share Posted July 1, 2006 Very sad news today. I walked in my house and turned on the tv to see this earlier this afternoon and I could not believe it. Very young (I think only 52) and turned a football program around. No matter how much that pissed me off that Northwestern upset OSU 2 years ago it is very sad to see a head coach like that go. Makes us think a lot about how we could lose our lives so easily and so quickly. My prayers are with his family. RIP Randy. I will deftinaly miss you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacD BengalFan Posted July 4, 2006 Report Share Posted July 4, 2006 He was an innovator as he implemented the spread offense that caused a huge headache for Michigan while racking up over 600 yards of offense and 54 points a few years ago. Now everyone has either copied this or has some form of it in their offensive system including Ohio State. He made an impact on college football with this style of offense that has spread from coast-to-coast. I wish only the best for the team and his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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