AUSTIN, Texas — Former Texas Longhorns coach Fred Akers has died at the age of 82 after complications from dementia, according to Texas Sports.
Akers succeded coach Darrell Royal, the namesake of the Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, and twice came within a single bowl victory of a national championship.
Akers was known for relying on defense and special teams, ending with an 86-31-2 record with the Longhorns. He left Texas Football in 1986 for Purdue, where he served for four years before retiring.
Before moving into a nursing home, Akers lived in Horseshoe Bay with his wife, Diane.
KVUE's Terri Gruca spoke with his family in August, when they were pushing for visitation as they were spread thin due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Diane made the tough decision to place her husband in a memory care facility in February, nine years after his diagnosis.
“It was a hard decision to put him in a memory care facility, but he was becoming distant and just not getting involved with anything,” she said.
When COVID-19 caused nursing homes to enforce strict visiting rules, she and other families pushed for looser rules to help those who suffer from similar diseases.
“He didn't understand why his hand had to be on a piece of glass, why he couldn't feel anyone. Then he got disinterested because he couldn't feel the human touch, the hug, any of it. So it made him not talk at all,” she said.
Texas Longhorns released the following statement on Twitter Monday evening:
"Texas mourns the passing of longtime Longhorn Football coaching great and Texas Athletics Hall of Honor member Fred Akers."
Akers led the Longhorns for 10 years, from 1977 to 1986, and is the third-winningest coach in the school's history. He spent 19 years on the Longhorns staff in total.
Texas Sports' full memorial can be read here.
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