DaytonDailyNews.com

OXFORD — Mike Bath is, understandably, in a state of shock. Last year the former Miami University quarterback lost his first college football coach, Randy Walker. And now his second coach, Terry Hoeppner, is gone.

Hoeppner, who had completed two seasons at Indiana University after guiding Miami to back-to-back bowl appearances, died early Tuesday morning in Bloomington, Ind., from brain tumor complications. He was 59.

Hoeppner's 48 victories in six seasons (1999-2004) are the second most in Miami football history, trailing only his predecessor, Walker, who won 59 games in nine seasons (1990-98).

Hoeppner, a native of Fort Wayne, Ind., came to Miami as linebackers coach in 1986. He became the program's assistant head coach under Walker in 1993 and was named defensive coordinator in 1995. He replaced Walker as Miami's head coach before the 1999 season, and in his debut the RedHawks won 28-3 over the Northwestern team coached by Walker.

Walker died of a heart attack last June.

"Last year some of my friends were talking about how Walker was not supposed to die, that he was going to outlive us all," said Bath, who was a three-year starter at quarterback (1998-2000) and is now a Miami assistant, coaching the tight ends. "It's the same with Hep. We thought he would just take a year off and then be back."

Bath, the first of three straight record-breaking quarterbacks to play for Hoeppner — he was followed by Ben Roethlisberger and Josh Betts — remembered Hoeppner both as a family man and coach.

"Gosh, he's the example, seeing him with his family and such, that I want to use for the rest of my life for my family," Bath said. "You would see him with his wife and know that his love for her was never ending. I want to be like him, let me put it that way.

"As a player, we never got a hard tongue lashing," Bath said. "He got on us, but it was in a positive way. You never thought you were out of a game. The hill was never too big. It was so refreshing. I'm so lucky to have played for both Terry Hoeppner and Randy Walker."

Shane Montgomery, who was hired by Hoeppner, became Miami's offensive coordinator and then replaced him as the RedHawks' head coach, said he, too, tries to emulate Hoeppner.

"He was a very honest coach who let everybody know where they stood," Montgomery said, "and I've tried to follow that. He treated everyone fairly.

"He was a mentor to me," Montgomery pointed out. "He brought me along at a young age and gave me a chance to be a coordinator. He was a man I could lean on, and even after he left for Indiana, I could call him and he'd have an answer for me."

John Pont, who coached at both Miami and Indiana on his way to the College Football Hall of Fame, remembered Hoeppner's honesty.

He was the right man for Miami and he was the right man for Indiana," Pont said. "He had to reinvigorate the program (at Indiana) and he did it by being Terry Hoeppner.

"He believed in himself," Pont continued, "and he was a very honest person. That's how he could get things changed. He was honest with everything he did, with his treatment of people, of players. He reached out to people."

Mike Harris, assistant athletic director for sports communications at the University of Cincinnati, who held a similar post at Miami when Hoeppner was head coach there, said the former coach's death is a great loss to "the Miami family."

"He had such a passion for what he did and for his family," Harris said. "And it was contagious. He's a person I'll truly miss."

Dan Dalrymple, the head strength and conditioning coach for the New Orleans Saints — and a former Miami offensive lineman and strength and conditioning coach for the RedHawks — said he always thinks about Hoeppner's passion for football and love for his players.

"He had unbridled enthusiasm and a zest for life and coaching," Dalrymple said. "He has touched the lives of numbers of players, and his legacy will go on because of the type of person he was. He had an impact on everyone he met."

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.