LEXINGTON - In one of the darkest moments of Mark Stoops’ life he knew his coach was there for him.
As a 21-year-old college student at Iowa, Stoops learned his father, Ron Stoops, had died of a massive heart attack while coaching in a high school game. When Stoops traveled home to Youngstown, Ohio, for the funeral, he knew the rest of Iowa’s team still had a game against Michigan to prepare for.
That did not stop legendary Iowa coach Hayden Fry from making the trip as well for Stoops’ father’s funeral.