Park Ridge, Ill. – “The Big Ten Conference, along with our institutions, coaches and student-athletes, are greatly saddened by the passing of Terry Hoeppner,” said Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany. “In his time in Bloomington, we came to know Terry as a great leader of young men and an important member of the Big Ten coaching community. He will be truly missed and our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Jane, and his children and grandchildren along with the entire Indiana University family.”

Here is the press release from Indiana University . . .

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Indiana University football coach Terry Hoeppner, 59, passed away Tuesday
morning at 6:50 a.m. at Bloomington Hospital following a lengthy illness.

“Coach died due to complications from the brain tumor for which he had been
treated surgically and therapeutically over the past 18 months, “ said
Indiana University team physician Dr. Larry Rink. “His family was at his
side.”

Hoeppner was named IU’s 26th head football coach on December 17, 2004 and he
and his coaching staff have worked tirelessly to generate enthusiasm and
passion for the program since his arrival in Bloomington.

“Terry’s fight was courageous and will serve as an inspiration to those who
have known him,” said IU Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan. “This is a
truly sad day for our community and all of our thoughts and prayers are with
the Hoeppner family and those whose lives he has touched.”

Further details regarding services are pending at this time, and will be
forthcoming once they are determined.

Bill Lynch has reshuffled his coaching staff’s responsibilities to fill the void left by Terry Hoeppner not being able to return to his coaching duties. The changes include three promotions: running backs coach Gerald Brown to assistant head coach, quarterbacks coach Matt Canada to offensive coordinator and offensive quality control coach (whatever that is) Kyle Conner to tight ends coach.

Here is the news release from IU announcing the changes:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ­ Indiana head football coach Bill Lynch completed his coaching staff Monday afternoon with three promotions from within the program. Running backs coach and special teams co-coordinator Gerald Brown has been promoted to assistant head coach, while passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Matt Canada will take over as offensive coordinator.

Kyle Conner, who served as the team’s offensive quality control coach in 2006, will round out the staff and serve as tight ends coach.

“We think we have an excellent staff in place,” Lynch said. “The continuity and consistency we built coming out of spring practice is of the utmost importance. We felt we made tremendous strides this spring and wanted to keep the staff intact.”

Brown, who has 21 years of coaching experience, has overseen the running backs and served as special teams co-coordinator, which he will continue to do in addition to his assistant head coach duties, since he arrived in Bloomington in 2002. In 2006, Brown’s special teams unit totaled five touchdowns ­ three on kick returns by Marcus Thigpen, one on a punt return
and one on a fumble recovery. Thigpen led the nation with a 30.1 kick return average and his three TDs. The special teams unit also held opponents under 20 yards per kickoff return (19.1).

Brown’s running backs have averaged 1,549 yards per season in his tenure. During Brown’s first season in Bloomington (2002), Indiana gained 1,398 yards despite not having a back with more than 90 career carries entering the 2002 campaign. In 2003, BenJarvus Green-Ellis became the seventh true freshman in Indiana history to rush for 100 yards in a game (he had four 100-plus yard efforts) and just the third freshman to eclipse the 200-yard plateau in a single game when he gained 203 yards against Penn State. In 2004, IU had at least one rushing touchdown in 10 of 11 games.

Canada, who will remain the team’s quarterbacks coach, held the offensive coordinator role at Northern Illinois in 2003. He spent the 2004 season as Indiana’s quarterbacks coach before adding the responsibilities of passing game coordinator to his resume in 2005 and 2006. Last season, Canada saw redshirt freshman Kellen Lewis post 2,662 total yards of offense, the
fourth-highest single-season output in school history.

In 2005, he oversaw a passing attack that threw a school record 24 touchdown passes, as Blake Powers set a school-record with 22 scores. Powers’ 212 completions and 376 attempts each ranked second in school history. Under Canada’s direction in 2004, Indiana went from 11th to fifth in the Big Ten in passing efficiency and from 10th to fourth in scoring offense.

Conner worked with the tight ends during the Hoosiers’ spring practice. Prior to the 2006 campaign, Conner spent the 2005 season as the co-offensive coordinator at Butler after serving as the school’s wide receivers coach from 2002-04. Conner also played wide receiver at Butler from 1996-00 and earned an elementary education degree from the university in 2001.

Devin Ebanks, a 6-8 wing forward from New York City has given a verbal commitment to Indiana.

He made the announcement today at the Rumble In the Bronx tournament at Fordham University. He chose the Hoosiers over Miami, his early favorite, and Rutgers, which made a late run.

Indiana managed to pry Ebanks away from the East Coast despite jumping into the recruitment relatively late in the process. Rob Senderoff was the lead recruiter and a team effort — including incoming freshman Eric Gordon — was used to sway Ebanks on his trip to Bloomington for the adidas May Classic.

Ebanks, ranked in the top 15 by most recruiting services, joins top 100 prospects Bud Mackey of Scott County, Kentucky and Eshaunte Jones of Fort Wayne in Kelvin Sampson’s second full class since coming to Indiana.

Sources at Fordham University in the Bronx indicate that Devin Ebanks will choose Indiana when he makes his college announcement at noon today.

We’ll have confirmation as soon as we can get it.

Here’s the complete media advisory and press release we just received from IU:

Indiana Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan and Coach Bill Lynch will hold
a press conference today at 2 p.m. in the Hoosier Room in Memorial Stadium.

Because of the volume of requests, we are unable to accommodate one-on-one
interviews for the two during this opportunity. No players are being made
available today, but comments from James Hardy and Charlie Emerson are
included in the release.

Further interview requests for Coach Lynch and selected players should be
made to Jeff Keag (812) 855-6209 or [email protected] beginning on Monday.

For Immediate Release
June 15, 2007

BILL LYNCH TO SERVE AS INDIANA HEAD FOOTBALL COACH DURING 2007 SEASON

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ­ Indiana University Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan
has announced that Bill Lynch, who has been the Hoosiers assistant head
coach and offensive coordinator since 2005, will assume the title of head
coach for the 2007 season as Terry Hoeppner continues his leave of absence.

“Most importantly, I wish Terry well with his ongoing health issues,”
Greenspan said. “Hep means a great deal to so many of us and his health is
a primary concern. As we rapidly approach the season, we believe this
clarity is needed regarding the leadership of our football program. Bill
Lynch and our staff have done an admirable job under trying circumstances
and the leadership they have displayed with our student-athletes has been
exemplary. I am confident that we will be capably led and thank Bill for
his willingness to serve as our head coach for the 2007 season. At the end
of the campaign, we will re-evaluate the circumstances and move forward from
that point.”

Indiana President Dr. Adam W. Herbert echoed Greenspan’s sentiments.

“Indiana University is extremely grateful for the outstanding job Coach Hep
has done to transform the IU football program,” Herbert said. “His
leadership and dedication provide the foundation on which we continue to
build the highly competitive football teams he envisions. The Hoosiers will
aggressively pursue Hep’s goal of playing 13 in 2007 as he fights to restore
his health. His spirit and determination to overcome adversity are an
inspiration to us all.”

This decision was made after recent consultation between Greenspan and the
Hoeppner family.

“Our family continues to be very grateful and humbled by the tremendous
support from the athletic administration, IU fans and friends around the
country,” Jane Hoeppner said. “For the past several months, Terry has
received chemotherapy and radiation treatments. This battle requires us to
focus our energy and attention on aiding his recovery in every way we can.
The faith we have in God more than sustains us and grows stronger every day.
Our family is confident that Bill and the staff will do a great job this
season. These comments would be incomplete without Hep’s ultimate statement
to all of you ­ DON¹T QUIT!”

Lynch owns an 81-67-3 record in 14 seasons as a head coach at Ball State,
Butler and DePauw. He came to IU with Hoeppner and also oversaw the
quarterbacks for the Hoosiers in 1993 and 1994.

“His courage serves as an example to all of us and we are prepared to follow
his example as we look to achieve great things this season,” Lynch said.
“All of us in the IU football family wish Terry the best as he fights
through this significant health challenge.”

Freshmen report August 4 and the Hoosiers open the season September 1 at
home against Indiana State.

PLAYER QUOTES
“As a group our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with Coach Hep and
his family. I think our coaches have brought this team along and made it
even closer. We are focused on having the best season we can possibly have
and Coach Lynch will continue to bring out the best in us.” – Junior wide
receiver James Hardy

“In times of adversity, everyone has to step up. We are all pulling for
Coach because we know he will never quit fighting. This team thinks the
world of our coaching staff and will play its hearts out for them. Our
ultimate goal will never change and that is to perform at the highest level
we possibly can week in and week out.” – Senior offensive lineman Charlie
Emerson

According to Indiana athletics media relations director J.D. Campbell, IU will issue a press release in the next few minutes announcing that Bill Lynch will be the Hoosier head coach in 2007.

There will also be a news conference to discuss the announcement at 2 p.m.

This announcement apparently will leave open the possibility of Terry Hoeppner returning as head coach after 2007 if his health allows.

We will keep you updated with further news throughout the day.