A Time to Remember

Senior Nadina Kodba stood at the west side of Assembly Hall waiting for head football coach Terry Hoeppner’s last “Walk.”\n“I didn’t know him, but I felt like I did,” she said.\nFriend and senior Alex Levine stood beside her and recalled how it wasn’t until Coach Hep came to IU that students like them began attending Hoosier football games.\n“He inspired everyone,” Levine said. \nHoeppner’s presence extended throughout the stands of Assembly Hall on Saturday as alumni, students and others who wanted to remember Hoeppner attended his Celebration of Life ceremony. \nHoeppner passed away Tuesday, June 19. But the legacy of IU’s 26th head football coach will live on. \nIt’s in the Walk, the Rock and resounds through the cheers and spirits of IU football fans like Kodba and Levine. \nWhen outgoing IU President Adam Herbert spoke, he \nremembered a card Hoeppner gave him one day in his office. On one side it read “Play 13” with a rose superimposed on the card. On the back it said, “If you think you can, or you think you can’t, then you’re right.”\nThe card not only exemplified Hoeppner’s dreams for the football team to make it to a bowl game and eventually the Rose Bowl but also his spirit.\nIt was those days in the office talking with Hoeppner that Herbert said he will always remember. Sometimes, Herbert said, people would tell him he got “Hepped” because the meetings would go so long, but Herbert and others who recalled such lengthy meetings don’t remember getting “Hepped” as being a bad thing, but rather as a fond memory. \nHoeppner’s spirit extended beyond the stands at Memorial Stadium and even the IU campus. \nDuring Saturday’s memorial service, Jane Hoeppner talked about being in an aisle at Target with her husband when a girl came running up to them exclaiming that she would be right back if they would just stay there. Jane said she remembered her husband thinking it was the coolest thing.\nAnother fan touched by Hoeppner’s vibrant attitude was junior Andrew Southwood. \nA year and a half ago, Southwood had the opportunity to meet Hoeppner.\nAt a photo shoot for the yearbook, Southwood and his friends painted, as they did during the football games, “Hep’s crew” across their chests and posed for a few photos.\nAfter the photos, Hoeppner wouldn’t let the fans leave without the opportunity to throw them each a touchdown pass. Hoeppner then escorted “Hep’s crew” through a tour of the athletics facility.\n“He took the time out of his day to spend with us and get to know us instead of just taking pictures with us and leaving,” Southwood said. \nAs a fan who attended even away games at Ball State University, Southwood said that if there was one thing Hoeppner was capable of, it was making football games fun for the students. \n“He challenged students to come out to the games,” Southwood said. “He was so outgoing. He made it a point to involve the students.” \nAnd even though Kobda never met Hoeppner, she said Hoeppner had an impact on her involvement as an IU student. \n“He made football seem fun,” Kobda said. “He’s someone I wish I would’ve met.”