Buddy Teevens, the winningest head coach in Dartmouth football history, has died at the age of 66 from injuries he sustained in a bicycling accident in March.
Throughout his career, Teevens strived to make football safer and spearheaded the integration of robotic tackling dummies into team practices, an innovation now used by various collegiate and professional teams.
Dartmouth president Sian Leah Beilock and athletic director Mike Harrity shared a letter Wednesday with the school community, announcing the tragic news.
“Our family is heartbroken to inform you that our beloved ‘coach’ has peacefully passed away surrounded by family. Unfortunately, the injuries he sustained proved too challenging for even him to overcome,” Teevens’ family said in a statement.
“Throughout this journey, we consistently relayed the thoughts, memories and love sent his way. Your kindness and letters of encouragement … were greatly appreciated by both Buddy and our family,” they added.
Kristen Teevens shared that her husband suffered a spinal cord injury from the bicycle accident and was also forced to have his right leg amputated from the complications.
The crash occurred while the couple was riding together in St. Augustine, Fla., where he was hit by pickup truck on March 16.
Since the incident, they relocated closer to Boston to continue his treatment near family members. Teevens’ longtime assistant Sammy McCorkle has filled in as interim head coach.
The Big Green plan to hold a moment of silence for their former coach before their next football game Saturday against Lehigh University. A postgame remembrance ceremony is scheduled, too.
Teevens began his football career as a star quarterback for Dartmouth in the late 70s, returning to coach from 1987 to 1991, and then again in 2005.
He would go on to win or split five Ivy League championships, and also made history in 2018 by hiring offensive quality control coach Callie Brownson. She’s believed to be the first full-time Division I female football coach.
“Buddy was a Dartmouth original,” Beilock and Harrity stated. “He will be greatly missed and dearly remembered by so many members of the community whose lives he touched and changed for the better.”
Teevens is survived by his wife, their daughter, Lindsay, and son, Buddy Jr., along with four grandchildren.
With News Wire Services
