Eugene F. “Buddy” Teevens ’79, Robert L. Blackman’s head coach, died today as a result of injuries sustained in a bicycle accident in March. He was 66.
“Our family is heartbroken to announce that our beloved ‘Trainer’ passed away peacefully surrounded by his family. Unfortunately, the injuries he sustained proved too severe even for him to overcome,” the Teevens family said in a statement. “Throughout this journey we have always passed on the thoughts, memories and love that were sent his way. Your kindness and encouraging letters did not go unnoticed and were greatly appreciated by both Buddy and our family.”
“We are hopeful and take comfort in the fact that he died knowing how much he was loved and admired.”
“This is tragic news for Dartmouth and the entire soccer world,” President Sian Leah Beilock and Haldeman Family Director of Athletics and Recreation Mike Harrity said in an email to the Dartmouth community this evening. “Not only was Buddy synonymous with Dartmouth football, he was also a beloved coach and an innovative, inspirational leader who helped shape the lives of generations of students.”
“Buddy’s wife, Kirsten Teevens, their children, Lindsay and Buddy Jr., and their four grandchildren are in our thoughts and have our deepest sympathies,” they added, noting that the longtime football coach welcomed them both to campus with warmth and enthusiasm at the time Their appointments were announced last year. “We know that the larger Dartmouth athletic family will join the Teevens family in mourning the loss of this dynamic, energetic and visionary man.”
Harrity and interim head coach Sammy McCorkle gathered the football team after practice this evening to inform them of Teevens’ death and ensure they have the support and resources they need as they process such devastating news.
Teevens was injured in March when his bicycle was hit by a pickup truck in Florida. In updates on his condition, Kirsten Teevens had said that her husband’s right leg was amputated following the accident and that he also suffered spinal cord injuries. This summer, she said they moved to Boston to continue his rehabilitation and be closer to family and friends.
Buddy Teevens ’79 was named New England Coach of the Year three times and was also known for his practice methods to protect players from concussions.
Teevens was the Ivy League Player of the Year as a quarterback at Dartmouth and later became the football program’s winningest coach.
And he was also known nationally for his practice methods to protect players from concussions.
The former history student worked to reduce full-contact drills by focusing on technique, which led to the development of the Mobile Virtual Player at Dartmouth’s Thayer School of Engineering, a robotic tackling dummy also used by other college programs and NFL teams was used.
“He proves that we can change football, make it safer and work within the system,” Chris Nowinski, founder of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, told the New York Times in 2018.
Teevens was also a part of the Manning Passing Academy for 25 years and eventually hired Callie Brownson at Dartmouth during the 2018 camp, where she became the first full-time Division I football coach.
About a month after the accident, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell recognized Teevens in the NFL draft, saying, “His impact on both college football and the NFL was enormous.” He was instrumental in transforming our game through groundbreaking innovations to make it safer. He is a pioneer in hiring female coaches, two of whom currently coach in the NFL.”
And last week, the eight Ivy League soccer teams announced they would wear a decal with his initials on their helmets this fall to show their continued support for Teevens, his family and the Dartmouth community.
Harrity and President Beilock said the football team will play this weekend the way Teevens would have liked, hosting Lehigh at Memorial Field on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. There will be a minute’s silence before the game and a memorial service afterwards. Dartmouth also plans to honor his legacy with contributions from the Teevens family in the coming weeks and months.
As a student at Dartmouth, Teevens was named Ivy League Player of the Year in 1978 when he led the Big Green to the Ivy League title. He was also successful in ice hockey, helping Dartmouth finish third in the 1979 NCAA Championships. He was awarded the Alfred W. Watson Trophy as Dartmouth’s outstanding athlete.
Buddy Teevens ’79 was an Ivy League Player of the Year as a quarterback and also a successful hockey player. (Photo courtesy of Dartmouth Athletics)
Teevens was a head football coach for more than 30 years, including 22 seasons at Dartmouth. After two years at Maine, Teevens initially coached the Big Green from 1987 to 1991, sharing the Ivy League title in 1990 and winning it outright the following year.
After coaching at Tulane and Stanford, he returned to Dartmouth in 2005 and led the team to a share of the Ivy League crown in 2015, 2019 and 2021.
During his time at Dartmouth, Teevens was named New England Coach of the Year three times (1990, 2015 and 2019) and Ivy League Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2021.
Overall, his record as Dartmouth’s head coach was 117-101-2, including 83-70-1 in Ivy League play.
Teevens is from Pembroke, Massachusetts and grew up in a sporty Dartmouth family. His father, the late Eugene F. Teevens II ’52, played hockey at Dartmouth and his brother, Shaun ’82, played football and hockey. His sister Moira was captain of the cross country and track teams in 1987 and earned All-Ivy and All-East honors as a runner.
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