OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, MS. (THECOUNT) — Mississippi State football head coach Mike Leach has died after experiencing a major medical emergency on Sunday while in Oktibbeha County. He was 61.
Coach Leach was in Starkville Sunday when he suffered a massive heart attack and resulting seizures that may have caused brain damage, according to reports.
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Leach’s family was by his side when he was pronounced dead at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson last night.
“Mike was a giving and attentive husband, father, and grandfather,” the Leach family said in a statement. “He was able to participate in organ donation at UMMC as a final act of charity. We are supported and uplifted by the outpouring of love and prayers from family, friends, Mississippi State University, the hospital staff, and football fans around the world. Thank you for sharing in the joy of our beloved husband and father’s life.”
Coach was transferred to University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, where he remained in critical condition on Monday.
Mike Leach remains in critical condition, according to a statement released from Mississippi State, as the Bulldogs coach is at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
“Mike’s family is with him and appreciates the overwhelming expressions of love and support for the coach, but also requests that their family’s privacy be respected at this time.”
On Sunday, the school released a statement when Leach’s health complications became public.
“Mississippi State University Head Football Coach Mike Leach had a personal health issue at his home earlier today (Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022). That issue led to a decision to transfer Coach Leach to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson by ambulance. That is the extent of information that MSU has available regarding Coach Leach’s condition, and the university will make no other comment at this time other than to say that the thoughts and prayers of the university are with Mike and Sharon and their family.
MSU President Mark E. Keenum and Interim MSU Athletics Director Bracky Brett have conferred, and the decision has been made to place MSU Defensive Coordinator Zach Arnett in charge of the MSU football team until Coach Leach returns. Practice for the ReliaQuest Bowl game and recruiting operations will continue.
MSU will issue additional information via social media when it becomes available.”
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Geo quick facts: Starkville is a city in, and the county seat of, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States. Mississippi State University, the state’s land-grant institution and a public flagship university. Oktibbeha County is a county in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census the population was 47,671. The county seat is Starkville. The county’s name is derived from a local Native American word meaning either “bloody water” or “icy creek” – Wikipedia.