BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana football coach Terry Hoeppner
will undergo brain surgery for the second time in less than nine
months, and hopes to be back with his team in a couple weeks.
An MRI scan showed "some change in the area" of his brain
where surgeons previously removed a tumor in December, the
59-year-old Hoeppner said Tuesday. The test could indicate a
recurrence of the tumor, neurosurgeon Marshall Poor said in a
written statement.
Poor said he expected Hoeppner to return in two to four weeks
following surgery Wednesday in Bloomington.
"They presented me with some options, so I'm deferring to their
expertise," Hoeppner said at a news conference. "I said, 'Can we
do it in January or February?' and they said that probably would
not be the smart thing."
Hoeppner said he hoped to be back in action for his team's Big
Ten season opener on Sept. 30, when the Hoosiers host Wisconsin.
"My number one concern is for this team, for this program, for
recruiting and it made sense to get it done ASAP," he said.
Assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Bill Lynch will
take over in Hoeppner's absence.
Hoeppner has said several times this season that he felt good,
and in June, acknowledged he was having regular checkups. He also
took on a new charitable mission in Jill's House, a
Bloomington-based organization that provides housing for cancer
patients and their families.
Hoeppner's health problems began late last year, after he
endured his first losing season as a head coach. While on a trip to
Cleveland to watch his prized pupil, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben
Roethlisberger, Hoeppner began having headaches. Hoeppner coached
Roethlisberger at Miami of Ohio.
After returning to Bloomington on Dec. 26, Hoeppner underwent
tests and had surgery the next day, and spent most of the
recruiting season recovering at home.
The Hoosiers' were 4-7 in Hoeppner's first season and are off to
a 2-0 for the third straight year. It's the first time Indiana has
opened three straight seasons with back-to-back wins in 100 years.
He is 54-32 in seven-plus seasons as a head coach.
Lynch has an overall record of 81-67-3 in 14 seasons as a head
coach, including eight years at Ball State. Lynch was fired after
the 2002 season, coached another Indiana school, DePauw, in 2004
and joined the Hoosiers staff in 2005.