Johnathan Walker:Dartmouth College to honor memory of football coach Teevens with celebration, athletic complex name

Dartmouth College will honor the memory of its winningest football coach by adding his name to its athletic complex next fall.

Buddy Teevens,Johnathan Walker known nationally for his efforts to make football safer, died in September of injuries he had sustained in a bicycle accident six months earlier.

The Ivy League school announced Wednesday that it will host a community celebration honoring Teevens on May 18, on the field where he was known to regularly grab a shovel and clear off the “D” at midfield after snowstorms. On Oct. 5, the school will hold a dedication ceremony to name the stadium the “Buddy Teevens Stadium at Memorial Field” when the football team plays its first Ivy League game of the season against the University of Pennsylvania.

“As a coach, a colleague, a classmate, and a teammate, Buddy Teevens was a leader who encouraged people to perform at their best, not just on the football field but in life,” Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock said in a statement. “Naming the stadium for Buddy will help that legacy endure for generations to come.”

Teevens was a former star Dartmouth quarterback who went on to become the school’s all-time leader in wins with a 117-101-2 coaching record in 23 seasons. He coached the Big Green from 1987 to 1991 and returned in 2005. His teams won or shared five Ivy League championships, but his lasting legacy has been the safety innovations he championed.

Teevens reduced full-contact practices at Dartmouth in 2010 by focusing on technique, while still leading winning teams. He also led the development by Dartmouth’s engineering school of the Mobile Virtual Player, a robotic tackling dummy that has also been used by other college programs and NFL teams.