Bill McCartney, the 2013 College Football Hall of Fame coach who headed the Colorado program from 1982 to 1994, passed away Jan. 10 after a long illness in Boulder. He was 84.
 
"I had so many great personal moments with Bill McCartney," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell, a CU alumnus who came to know Coach McCartney well over the years. "When I was with the Orange Bowl, it was hard to hide the thrill of hosting my alma mater, and it was all because Mac had CU reaching new heights.  They had captured the nation's attention and to this day those were two of the highest-rated Orange Bowls in history. And what a privilege it was to induct him into the College Football Hall of Fame, he was very humble about it and credited everyone around him.  It was always a first-class experience whenever we dealt with him, some truly great moments. We are deeply saddened by his passing, and we will always cherish his immense contributions."
 
The Colorado head coach from 1982-94, Bill McCartney guided the Buffaloes to their first national title and to more bowl games than any other coach in CU football history. He retired as the winningest coach in CU football history with a 93-55-5 record during 13 seasons. 

McCartney and the Buffs finished in the Top 20 in each of his last six seasons in Boulder, including the 1990 national crown and back-to-back appearances in the 1989 and 1990 title games. He claimed unanimous 1989 National Coach of the Year honors, and his extraordinary accomplishments include leading the Buffs to nine bowls in 13 seasons and to three Big Eight titles, 1989-90-91. His 1988-92 teams went 25 consecutive games (23-0-2) without a loss in league play, the fourth-longest streak in conference history.

He coached four players in the College Football Hall of Fame: outside linebacker and Butkus winner Alfred Williams (inducted in 2010), wide receiver Michael Westbrook (2020), the late running back and Heisman winner Rashaan Salaam (2022) and cornerback and Thorpe winner Deon Figures (2024). He also coached Thorpe Award winner Chris Hudson (1994), NFF Campbell Trophy winner Jim Hansen in 1992, and 1987 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Eric McCarty.

The three-time Big Eight Coach of the Year was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, and he was enshrined in CU's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006. Active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, he was voted the 1986 FCA's "Man-of-the-Year" in Colorado.
 
His coaching tree would eventually include 12 future collegiate head coaches: Gary Barnett, Jim Caldwell, Ron Dickerson, Jon Embree, Gerry DiNardo, Karl Dorrell, Les Miles, Rick Neuheisel, Bob Simmons, Lou Tepper, Ron Vanderlinden and John Wristen. 
 
McCartney attended the University of Missouri on a football scholarship and lettered three times as a center-linebacker for the Tigers. He played in two Orange Bowl games and was named second-team All-Big 8 as a senior. 
 
He graduated from Missouri in 1962 with a degree in education and immediately turned his attention to coaching, beginning his career as an assistant at Joplin (Mo.) High from 1963 to 1964. He was an assistant coach at Michigan for eight and a half years under Hall of Fame Coach Bo Schembechler before landing the top job at Colorado in 1982.
 
He was born Aug. 22 in 1940 in Riverview, Michigan. He graduated from Riverview High School in 1958, having earned 11 letters in three sports (football, basketball, and baseball).  He was captain of the football and basketball teams his senior year.  He was married to the former Lynne (Lyndi) Taussig of Santa Monica, California, for just over 50 years until her death in 2013.  He is survived by four children, Michael, Thomas, Kristy ,and Marc, and 10 grandchildren, including T.C. McCartney, who was the quarterbacks coach this past season with the New England Patriots.
 
Memorial services are pending at this time..
 
CU Athletics contributed to this report.