A Fatal Injury on the Field
Tyler Ulrich, a 21-year-old sophomore safety at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma, died on Thursday, five days after he sustained a traumatic injury during a football game. The injury occurred on October 10 during the team's 49-14 loss to Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The game was delayed for nearly an hour as medical personnel treated Ulrich before he was taken to a hospital, according to the Associated Press. He had been hospitalized since the incident.[S1][S2][S3]
Ulrich's father, Mark Ulrich, said in a Facebook post that his son had suffered a head injury, The Athletic reported. In a post on Thursday, Mark Ulrich announced that Tyler died at 11:13 a.m. and thanked those who had supported the family. He wrote that the family felt blessed by the love and prayers they received and described his son as someone who lived with faith and passion and was a force on the football field. The university has not disclosed an official cause of death or provided further details about the injury.[S3]
A Campus and Community in Mourning
Southern Nazarene University announced Ulrich's death on Instagram on Thursday. SNU President Dr. Keith Newman said Ulrich was surrounded by the love, prayers, and presence of his family, teammates, and dear friends when he died. The university wrote that the loss was deeply felt across campus and asked people to join in prayer for his family, friends, teammates, and all who knew him. SNU held a campuswide prayer in Ulrich's honor on Tuesday and made grief counseling available to anyone in need.[S1][S2]
Head football coach Dustin Hada paid tribute to Ulrich on social media, describing him as a man of God, an ultimate example of quiet strength, loyal, a worker, and joyous. In Azle, Texas, where Ulrich was from, residents also mourned. Renee Frasier, a local café worker and resident of Azle, said the news was heart-wrenching and that her thoughts and prayers were with the family, adding that it hit home because she has three children of her own. Ulrich's high school football coach, Jason Vines, remembered him as a talented and good young man, saying that when he thinks of good, he thinks of Tyler Ulrich, and calling him one of the sweetest young men he had ever been around.[S1][S2]
Team and Conference Respond
Southwestern Oklahoma State University Athletics expressed its condolences in a statement, saying its thoughts and prayers were with the Southern Nazarene football program and university community during the difficult time. Southern Nazarene canceled its game against Southwestern Oklahoma State University, which had been scheduled for Saturday. Ulrich was in his third season with the SNU football team and had appeared in 20 games, starting 16, according to The Athletic. The private university competes in the NCAA Division II Great American Conference.[S1][S2][S3]
