[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 17235]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING COACH TERRY HOEPPNER

 Mr. Bayh. Mr. President, today Senator Lugar and I, with heavy 
hearts, honor the life of a great Hoosier from Woodburn, IN, Terry 
Hoeppner. Coach Hoeppner died last week after battling brain cancer for 
several years.
  He graduated from Franklin College in 1969. After graduation, he 
began his career as a coach, spending time coaching high school 
football in Indiana, South Carolina, and Alabama until he was hired by 
his alma mater's football program in 1980.
  He was the defensive coordinator for 6 years at Franklin College 
until he was hired by Miami University in Oxford, OH. He spent 13 years 
as an assistant coach until 1999, when he was promoted to head football 
coach, a position he held for 6 years.
  Coach Hoeppner came to Indiana University in 2004 as the new head 
football coach and brought with him a new energy to Bloomington. At his 
first press conference, he stated that, ``Our goals are simple--100 
percent graduation rate, and the Rose Bowl. We will shoot for 
perfection, and we can settle for excellence.''
  In March, doctors were forced to hold Coach Hoeppner out of spring 
practices, and on June 19, 2007, he finally succumbed to the disease. 
He is survived by his wife, Jane; his children, Drew, Amy, and Allison; 
and his grandchildren, Tucker, Spencer, Tate, and Quinn.
  Coach Hoeppner was held in high esteem by both colleagues and former 
players. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern University football coach said, 
``He was one of the great role models in our coaching profession.''
  Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, who played for 
Hoeppner at Miami said, ``He has been a second father, a teacher and a 
friend. He believed in me and I owe everything to him for where I am in 
life. I hold the deepest love and respect for him, his wife Jane, and 
their family. He has been a role model for so many young men. I aspire 
to be as honorable and touch as many lives as Coach Hep. I will miss 
him more than words can describe.''
  It is our sad duty to add the name of Terry Hoeppner in the official 
record of the Senate for the role he played in the lives of so many 
young athletes. May God grant strength and peace to those who 
mourn.

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