Rest in Peace: NCAA DI Head-Coaching Careers Curtailed By Untimely Deaths

South Florida coach Amir Abdur-Rahim was only 43 years old when he died because of complications during a medical procedure. USF also had a head coach (Bill Gibson) die in his mid-40s following the 1974-75 campaign. Similar tragic tales have been told before at the NCAA Division I level. Following is an alphabetical list of major-college head coaches who were active when passing away in the prime of life:

• Marshall coach Stu Aberdeen passed away at age 43 in the offseason (mid-June) from a heart attack while vacationing in Florida after his second season with the Thundering Herd in 1978-79. He was credited with recruiting two of the premier players in Tennessee history - New York products Ernie Grunfeld and Bernard King.
• Michigan State coach John Benington, 47, died of a heart attack while jogging after the 1968-69 season. He guided St. Louis to four NIT appearances in seven-year stint.
• Dayton coach Tom Blackburn, falling ill with cancer, was 58 when he died eight days after the Flyers' regular-season finale in 1963-64. He directed the Flyers to six NIT championship games in 12-year span from 1951 through 1962.
• Colgate coach John "Jack" Bruen, 48, died of pancreatic cancer just before Christmas in 1997 after guiding the Red Raiders to back-to-back NCAA playoff appearances in 1995 and 1996.
• Franklin "Cappy" Cappon was to have coached in 1961-62, but died of a heart attack at 61 while showering at fieldhouse three days before Princeton's opening game. He previously coached Michigan in the 1930s.
• Nebraska coach Joe Cipriano, 49, died after a year-long battle with cancer three days before the Cornhuskers' 1980-81 season opener. He was their all-time winningest mentor when perishing.
• Tommy Joe Eagles, hired by New Orleans after he was forced out by Auburn at the end of the previous season, died of a heart attack at age of 45 in late July 1994 during a visit to an NBA rookie camp in Utah.
• South Florida coach Bill Gibson, 47, died of a heart attack following the 1974-75 campaign after returning from a recruiting trip. He had suffered a severe heart attack before the start of his only season as coach of the Bulls.
• Hugh Greer, 60, was Connecticut's all-time winningest mentor when he died of a massive heart attack midway through the 1962-63 campaign. Interim George Wigton went on to guide the Huskies to the NCAA playoffs.
• Lew Hill was midway through his fifth season with Texas-Rio Grande Valley when passing away at the age of 55 on February 7, 2021, because of medical issues.
• Jesse "Bud" Kennedy, diagnosed with stomach cancer following his 18th season as Florida State's head coach, died on June 24, 1966, at the age of 59 and was succeeded by 29-year-old assistant Hugh Durham, who went on to guide the Seminoles and Georgia to the Final Four.
• Notre Dame's George Keogan died of a heart attack at his home on February 17, 1943, at the age of 52. In 24 seasons as a college coach (20 with the Irish), he never compiled a losing record and won 13 straight one-point games from 1924-25 to midway through 1933-34. Keogan passed away before ever appearing in the NIT or NCAA Tournament. UND was still bound by the school's ban on postseason competition.
• Paul Lambert, lured by Auburn from Southern Illinois following 1977-78 campaign after eight seasons with the Salukis as Jack Hartman's successor, died at the age of 43 in a tragic motel fire in Columbus, Ga., while conducting a two-day clinic waiting for his family to move. The Tigers filled the coaching vacancy by hiring Sonny Smith from East Tennessee State.
• Oklahoma coach Lester Lane, a former Sooners All-American, died of a heart attack in a pickup game at the age of 41 in 1973 before ever coaching a contest for them.
• Frank "Bucky" O'Connor, who coached Iowa to Final Four in 1955 and 1956, perished at age of 44 in an automobile accident after 1957-58 season. He died after swerving to avoid two guinea hens in the road, lost control of his car and skidded into path of a truck hauling 16 tons of concrete tile.
• Lee Patton, who held the second-best winning percentage in West Virginia history, died at age of 45 in an auto accident late in the 1949-50 season.
• Wake Forest's George "Skip" Prosser, 56, died of a heart attack following the 2006-07 season after returning to his office from noon jog.
• Anthony Stewart was on precipice of his fifth season with Tennessee-Martin when perishing at the age of 50 in mid-November 2020.
• Only three days after the end of Temple's 1938-39 campaign, James Usilton Sr. died of a heart ailment at the age of 43. Usilton won 68.1% of his games with the Owls decided by fewer than five points (49-23 in close contests).
• Bobby Watson, 35, was in his first season at Evansville when he and his Purple Aces team members were killed. Their plane incurred engine failure and crashed on December 13, 1977, leaving for flight to Nashville. Watson had survived a 31-month tour of duty in Vietnam, where he earned five Purple Hearts.