US coroner links college football player Tyler Ulrich’s death to brain injury

Southern Nazarene University player Tyler Ulrich died from a traumatic brain injury and a brain bleed, the Garland County Coroner’s Office said in a report obtained by ESPN and described in its 30 October 2026, article. The report said Ulrich was “hit helmet to helmet causing the subdural hematoma.”

The university had previously described his death as the result of a “traumatic injury” and declined to give further details.

What the medical findings mean

A traumatic brain injury means damage to the brain caused by an outside force. The subdural hematoma named in Ulrich’s report is a collection of blood between the dura mater and arachnoid mater, 2 membranes surrounding the brain. This type of bleeding is usually, but not always, associated with traumatic brain injury.

The quoted medical finding identifies an injury mechanism; it does not by itself determine whether a playing rule was broken or establish negligence or legal liability. Myrick’s description of a normal football play was his observation, not a ruling on those questions.

The player and the game injury

Ulrich was 21 and played safety, a defensive position, for Oklahoma’s Division II Southern Nazarene. He was a redshirt sophomore, meaning he was in his second year of athletic eligibility, and one of the team’s top 3 tacklers.

He was injured and hospitalized on 10 October during an away game against Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Head coach Dustin Hada said Ulrich was involved in a group tackle. Paramedics treated him on the field for nearly 60 minutes before taking him to a nearby hospital. He died on 15 October 2026.

Team radio announcer Dave Myrick said he noticed nothing unusual about the hit until players began urgently signaling for athletic trainers. He described what he saw as a “normal football play.”

The team’s return

Southern Nazarene finished the game in which Ulrich was injured, skipped the following week and returned the Saturday before the coroner findings were published, beating Northwestern Oklahoma State University 60–37.

The university said its president, football team and coaches attended a Celebration of Life service for Ulrich in Azle, Texas, the following Sunday. Hada said he and the team were “doing the best we can” after Ulrich’s death.

A university spokesperson said on 30 October that Southern Nazarene had not yet received the coroner’s report.