Coroner attributes SNU safety Tyler Ulrich's death to helmet-to-helmet impact
A Garland County report confirms the 21-year-old suffered a subdural hematoma after a tackle during an October game, adding to a rare statistical trend in college football.
By Amira Patel ·
Tyler Ulrich, a safety for Southern Nazarene University, died five days after sustaining a helmet-to-helmet impact during a football game, according to a coroner's report. The Garland County Coroner's Office identified the cause of death as a traumatic brain injury and a subdural hematoma. Ulrich was 21 years old.
The incident occurred on Oct. 10 during an away game against Ouachita Baptist University. Head coach Dustin Hada stated that Ulrich was involved in a group tackle when the collision happened. Paramedics treated Ulrich on the field for nearly an hour before transporting him to a nearby hospital. He passed away on Oct. 15.
Southern Nazarene previously described the death as the result of a traumatic injury but did not release specific medical details. A university spokesperson said the administration had not yet received the official coroner's report as of Friday. The school held a Celebration of Life service for Ulrich in Azle, Texas, last Sunday.
Dave Myrick, the team's radio play-by-play announcer, recalled the moment of the tackle. He said the play itself appeared routine until teammates began waving for medical staff to enter the field. Myrick noted that a county sheriff and Ulrich's mother quickly joined the medical team on the sideline. "There was nothing in the run of that play that made you go, 'Oh man, that looked horrible,'" Myrick said.
Ulrich was a redshirt sophomore and one of the team's top three tacklers. Hada, who has coached the team since 2019, described Ulrich as a "tremendous man of faith" and a leader in the locker room. The Southern Nazarene squad skipped a game the week after Ulrich's injury but returned to play the following Saturday, defeating Northwestern Oklahoma State University 60-37.
According to data from the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, Ulrich is one of only two college football players to die from a traumatic head or neck injury during a game in the past nine years. He is the second player to die from a game-related incident this season. MicahJo Barnett, a running back at William Jewell College, collapsed on the sideline in early August. William Jewell did not disclose Barnett's cause of death.
Source: ESPN
