EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern University football coach Randy Walker died of an apparent heart attack Thursday night. He was 52.
No other details of his death were immediately available.
"This is a devastating loss, not only for our athletic program, but for the entire Northwestern community," athletic director Mark Murphy said in a statement released by the school early today.
"Randy truly embraced Northwestern and its mission and cared deeply for his student-athletes, both on and off the field," he said.
Two months ago, Northwestern gave Walker a four-year extension through the 2011 season. He joined the school in 1999 after nine years at Miami of Ohio.
Walker's Wildcats posted 37 wins, going 7-5 last season. He led the team to three bowl games since 2000, including a 50-38 loss to UCLA in Sun Bowl in December.
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Northwestern shared the Big Ten title in 2000. Walker was the first Wildcats coach to guide the team to four seasons with at least six wins since C.M. Hollister in 1899-1902.
BASKETBALL
Infant son of Lakers'
Odom found dead
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The 6 1/2-month-old son of Los Angeles Lakers player Lamar Odom's has died, a spokesman for the team said Thursday.
Jayden Odom died Wednesday night, apparently suffocating while sleeping in his crib in New York. Jayden was born Dec. 15. Odom has two older children — a son and a daughter.
â—Ź Gregg Marshall returned to Winthrop's basketball team Thursday, one day after his rousing introduction at the College of Charleston.
â—Ź Central Michigan hired UCLA assistant Ernie Zeigler as its men's basketball coach Thursday. He replaced Jay Smith, who resigned in May after nine years.
â—ŹÂ Bridget Pettis retired from the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday and became an assistant on coach Paul Westhead's staff. Pettis was an original member of the Mercury, playing for the team from 1997-2001, and hit the first basket in franchise history.
TRANSPLANT GAMES
Local athletes bring back medals in Games
Eight local athletes won 13 medals at the 2006 Transplant Games held in Louisville, Ky.
Dianne Miller, a liver recipient, captured four gold medals: three in swimming and one in tennis singles.
Kidney recipient Jim Kluger won a gold and two silver medals in track and field. Others taking gold were Ike Rogers (golf), Kelsey Drescenzo (table tennis), and Harold Jones (shot put).
Ramsey Harris took silver in badminton, and George Rivera (badminton) and Lance Parsons (swimming) won bronze.
