R.I.P. Terry Hoeppner

I spend my summers as most other internets-oriented college football fans spend theirs--I bone up on how my team is recruiting; I visit message boards for the sparse nectar of football knowledge that temporarily satiates my endless appetite; I wake up in the middle of the night wracked with anxiety following nightmares of devastating off-season injuries and games blown by my team's antiquated, stubborn coach (that last part may not be as common); and I look ahead and assess the upcoming schedule.

For Michigan fans, there are several games to worry about each summer: anything having to do with Warden Tressel; anything having to do with the West Coast; anything having to do with teams or coaches in need of a legitimizing victory; anything having to do with a title ending in "Bowl"; and the usual "unexpected" Big Ten shit show when bad coaching and predictable schemes and bad play all lead to an inexplicable defeat. Purdue, Michigan State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Illinoise (that's some Zookanese), Penn State (it's been a decade, after all)--you never know.

Indiana isn't on that list, but it was on its way. From a Michigan perspective, that's what struck me about the tragic passing of Coach Hoeppner.

I didn't know Terry Hoeppner as a person and I did not follow his career with any sort of elevated scrutiny, but I did take notice when he was hired to coach the Hoosiers. Hoeppner was an enthusiastic and compassionate coach who won a lot of games while coaching at a mid-major. His was not a career spent serving as a custodian of someone else's program, and his victories did not primarily owe to superior talent. What he accomplished, he accomplished as a smart tactician and great person. Reading about his life and his lasting impact makes this clear. And it was reinforced in a more personal way when, last month, I stopped to wonder if Michigan could lose to Indiana this season.

Michigan fans don't usually think about that; Michigan doesn't lose to Indiana. But nevertheless, it occurred to me because the warranted perennial pessimism in which I traffic was no longer met by the reassuring thought, "It's just Indiana." Rather, I'd noticed that Hoeppner had changed the culture of the Hoosier program and had not settled for humble goals. Instead he spoke about challenging Michigan and other schools for Big Ten supremacy. And it never seemed like an inspirational ploy; I read his comments as a manifesto that he intended to follow.

Sadly, he did not have enough time to see his plan to fruition, and that is Indiana's loss no more than it is college football's. Hoeppner, even for those who observed from a distance, was an engaging and impressive coach. He earned this Michigan fan's ultimate respect.