Former CU coach Bill McCartney refuses surrender to Alzheimer's

Former CU football Head Coach Bill McCartney speaks to the media during an event on Tuesday, May 7, 2013, celebrating his recent election into the College Hall of Fame. (Photo by Jeremy Papasso/Daily Camera)

By Mark Kiszla | mkiszla@denverpost.com | The Denver Post

PUBLISHED: April 8, 2023 at 4:05 PM MDT | UPDATED: June 3, 2023 at 8:44 PM MDT

Getting your player ready...

Although in the grips of dementia, 82-year-old CU coaching legend Bill McCartney will never forget are the farewell words of Lyndi, when the ravages of emphysema squeezed the life from his wife in 2013.

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Kiszla: At 82, Bill McCartney refuses surrender to Alzheimer’s and still hates the Cornhuskers: “Better dead than red.”

“I’m a sad lad,” McCartney said, admitting he has never recovered from his wife’s death a decade ago

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