50 Sports Greats Who Died In 2025: College Football Head Coach Bill McCartney Died At 84

On January 10, legendary college football head coach Bill McCartney died from complications of dementia at 84.

McCartney was the head football coach at the University of Colorado from 1982 to 1994. During his thirteen seasons as the head coach, Colorado had a 93-55-5 record.

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In 1990, Colorado was co-national champion with Georgia Tech, as the Colorado Buffaloes were the No. 1 team in the AP poll, while Georgia Tech was the No. 1 team in the UPI Coaches poll.

Eric Bieniemy, who was a running back on the National Championship team, shared his memories of coach McCartney. “When I look back, Coach Mac brought us together and helped us as young men to define our purpose in life by gaining a complete understanding of commitment, accountability and resilience,” Bieniemy said.

During McCartney’s tenure at Colorado, he also won three consecutive Big Eight Championships, was a three-time Big Eight Coach of the Year, and a one-time Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year and Walter Camp Coach of the Year.

Colorado also appeared in the Orange Bowl three times and in the Fiesta Bowl once under coach McCartney.

In 2013, McCartney was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He is also in the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame and received the Paul “Bear” Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award.