Epileptic Minnesota Coach Carted Off at Halftime

(AP) Epileptic Minnesota coach carted off at halftime
By DAVE CAMPBELL
AP Sports Writer
MINNEAPOLIS
Minnesota coach Jerry Kill suffered another game-day seizure, at halftime while the Gophers were playing Western Illinois on Saturday, and was taken to a local hospital as a precaution.

The university said Kill was resting comfortably, after he was taken away on a stretcher following his latest episode. Kill was lying on the ground right after the Gophers left for the locker room with a 7-6 lead, writhing back and forth for several minutes with medical staff surrounding him in attempt to keep him as still as possible to prevent injury.

Kill has worked with doctors to bring his seizures under better control with medication, rest, nutrition and exercise, but the stress of a game day is hard to avoid. Kill suffered a seizure in the locker room at halftime last November during a loss to Michigan State, his third documented episode during a game at Minnesota since taking over here in 2011.

He had seizures after a defeat by Northwestern last October and also in September 2011, on the sideline near the end of his first game at TCF Bank Stadium, a loss to New Mexico State. Other episodes have occurred elsewhere, without warning as epileptics know all too well.

The university was aware of Kill’s condition when he was hired and has long insisted it isn’t a deterrent to his ability to succeed in the job. After the last publicized seizure, the one during the Michigan State game last season, athletic director Norwood Teague said the school has “100 percent confidence in Jerry.”

Teague added then: “You don’t want to downplay it, but you get to the point of realizing that it’s just something he has to deal with at times.”

Kill also had seizures on game day in 2001 and 2005, at Southern Illinois.