Southern Nazarene football player Tyler Ulrich dies after sustaining game injury

By
FOX Local
Published October 16, 2026 6:20 PM MST

FILE - North American football sitting on turf. (Getty Images) 

The Brief

    • Southern Nazarene football player Tyler Ulrich died at age 21 after suffering an injury during a game.
    • Ulrich was hospitalized for five days before dying surrounded by family, teammates, and friends.
    • Officials have not released details about his injury or cause of death.

A football player in his sophomore year at Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma has died after sustaining injuries during a game over the weekend. 

Tyler Ulrich dies 

Dig deeper:

Tyler Ulrich was a safety at Southern Nazarene.

During a game on Saturday against Ouachita Baptist, Ulrich sustained a "traumatic injury" and was transported to a nearby hospital. 

Ulrich died five days later. He was 21 years old. 

Ulrich, who was from Azle, Texas, was in his third season at SNU.

What we know:

Ulrich died in the hospital surrounded by his family, teammates and friends. 

What we don't know:

The details of Ulrich’s injury and cause of death were not immediately shared. 

What they're saying:

"Man of God, ultimate example of quiet strength, loyal, worker, joyous. That’s who Tyler was!!" SNU coach Dustin Hada wrote on X. 

The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press. 

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