21-year-old football player dies after head injury during Division II game

A Division II football player has died five days after sustaining a traumatic injury during a game. Tyler Ulrich, a 21-year-old sophomore who played at Southern Nazarene University (SNU) in Oklahoma, passed away from the injury he sustained, the school announced on Thursday. Southern Nazarene, located in Bethany, Oklahoma, did not reveal what exactly caused Ulrich’s death, but he did suffer a head injury this past Saturday. SNU Athletics posted on its X account, "It is with heavy hearts that we share the loss of our SNU football player, Tyler Ulrich. This loss is deeply felt across our campus. Our hearts are with his family, friends, teammates, and everyone who knew him. We ask that you join us in lifting them up in prayer." Dustin Hada, the head coach of Southern Nazarene’s football program, also mourned the loss of his player on social media, describing Ulrich as a "Man of God, ultimate example of quiet strength, loyal, worker, joyous." Ulrich’s father, Mark, posted on Facebook earlier Thursday as his son continued to fight, saying the family "truly need a miracle." Unfortunately, he was unable to make a recovery. Mark Ulrich wrote on Thursday afternoon, "Our family is truly blessed to receive all the love and prayers for our young Tyler and we are ever grateful. But as much support and love that was given, it is with a heavy heart I am writing to say the Lord called Tyler this morning at 11:13 a.m." The game was delayed for nearly an hour on Saturday as Ulrich received medical attention on the field following a play where he suffered his injury. He was later transported to a hospital. Ulrich was in his third season with SNU, where he started 16 of his 20 games with the program. He had six starts this season, tallying 36 tackles on the year. SNU canceled its game at Southwestern Oklahoma State this Saturday as a result of Ulrich’s death. The Associated Press contributed to this report.