 Beckman in 2009 as Toledo head coach | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1965-01-19)January 19, 1965 (age 60)[1] |
| Playing career | |
| 1983 | Kentucky |
| 1984–1987 | Findlay |
| Position(s) | Defensive back |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1988–1989 | Auburn (GA) |
| 1990–1995 | Western Carolina (DB/RC) |
| 1996–1997 | Elon (DC/RC) |
| 1998–2004 | Bowling Green (AHC/DC) |
| 2005–2006 | Ohio State (CB) |
| 2007–2008 | Oklahoma State (DC) |
| 2009–2011 | Toledo |
| 2012–2014 | Illinois |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 33–41 |
| Bowls | 0–2 |
Timothy David Beckman (born January 19, 1965) is a formerAmerican football coach. He served as the head football coach at theUniversity of Toledo from 2009 to 2011 and at theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign from 2012 to 2014, compiling a careercollege football coaching record of 33–41. Beckman was terminated by Illinois on August 28, 2015, seven days prior to the Illini's scheduled season opener, after numerous allegations of abuse of players surfaced.
Beckman attended high school atForest Park High School inBeaumont, Texas, for two years before completing his secondary education atBerea High School inBerea, Ohio.
Beckman is the son ofDavid Beckman, a longtimeNCAA,NFL, andCFL coach and scout.[2][3][4]
He attended theUniversity of Findlay, where he lettered on the football team for two years; in both years the Oilers qualified for theNAIA Football National Championship playoffs. He graduated from Findlay in 1985 with a degree in physical education.
Beckman began his coaching career atAuburn as a graduate assistant underPat Dye from 1988 to 1989. Auburn wereSEC co-champions in those seasons, and Beckman earned a master's degree in education from Auburn. From 1990 to 1995, Beckman was secondary coach and recruiting coordinator atWestern Carolina. He later became defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator atElon, a position he would hold from 1996 to 1997.[2]
Beckman coached atBowling Green as defensive coordinator and associate head coach from 1998 to 2004 and at Ohio State underJim Tressel as cornerbacks coach from 2005 to 2006, where he was a three-time nominee for theFrank Broyles Award.[2]
Beckman was thedefensive coordinator atOklahoma State University from 2007 to 2008. TheCowboys posted a record of 16–10 during those seasons.[2]
On December 4, 2008, Beckman was hired as the head coach at Toledo, to replaceTom Amstutz, who resigned during the 2008 season.[5] Beckman's teams at Toledo saw consistent improvement. The2008 team he inherited went 3–9. In 2009, his first year as a head coach, his team improved to finish 5–7. In the following year, his team finished8–5, 7–1 in theMAC, earning a berth to the2010 Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl, which they lost 34–32 to theFIU Golden Panthers. In his final year at Toledo, Coach Beckman finished9–4, 7–1 in the MAC to be West Division co-champions withNorthern Illinois. This team earned a berth to the2011 Military Bowl. However, Beckman left after the regular season to become the head coach forIllinois.
At Illinois, Beckman went 12–25 in three seasons, and only won four games in Big Ten play. In his third season, the Illini managed to qualify for a bowl with a 6–6 record, but lost 35–18 toLouisiana Tech in theHeart of Dallas Bowl.
On August 28, 2015—just a week before what was to be his fourth season—Beckman was fired after the preliminary results of an internal investigation substantiated accusations of gross player mistreatment. Most seriously, the investigation found that he'd forced players to play through serious injuries and had the medical staff clear these players too soon.[6]
In a statement, Beckman called his ouster a "rush to judgment" that violated the terms of his contract, and stated that he intended to "vigorously defend both my reputation and my legal rights."[7]
On April 11, 2016, Beckman settled with the university for a one time payment of $250,000 with the decision of firing "for cause" due to the mistreatment of players standing.[8]
On August 24, 2016; Beckman was hired to serve as a volunteer assistant defensive coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels, working under head coachLarry Fedora. Beckman and Fedora have a working history together, having both served as assistant coaches onMike Gundy's staff at Oklahoma State in 2007. However, after a firestorm of criticism, Beckman resigned from this position the next day, claiming he did not want to be a "distraction." It was later revealed that UNC chancellorCarol Folt had strongly objected to Beckman's presence, even in a volunteer role, once she learned about the arrangement.[9]
In 2013, a former Toledo football player, Kyle Cameron, sued Beckman, the University of Toledo, and five members of Beckman's staff at Toledo for negligence and for violatingOhio's anti-hazing law. Cameron's lawsuit and appeal were dismissed as the suit was filed through the incorrect division of theLucas County Court. Cameron's legal counsel asked theSupreme Court of Ohio to review the case.[10][11][12]
Beckman was hired on December 9, 2011, by Illinoisathletic directorMike Thomas.[13]Prior to the start of the2012 season, Beckman sent six Illinois assistant coaches toState College, Pennsylvania to recruitPenn State football players who the NCAA deemed eligible to transfer without missing playing time due to thePenn State child sex abuse scandal.[14][15] In October 2012 season, Illinois self-reported secondary violations to theNCAA as television cameras caught Beckman usingchewing tobacco on the sidelines during a football game atWisconsin.[16][17]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toledo Rockets(Mid-American Conference)(2009–2011) | |||||||||
| 2009 | Toledo | 5–7 | 3–5 | 4th(West) | |||||
| 2010 | Toledo | 8–5 | 7–1 | 2nd(West) | LLittle Caesars Pizza | ||||
| 2011 | Toledo | 8–4[n 1] | 7–1 | T–1st(West) | Military[n 1] | ||||
| Toledo: | 21–16 | 17–7 | |||||||
| Illinois Fighting Illini(Big Ten Conference)(2012–2014) | |||||||||
| 2012 | Illinois | 2–10 | 0–8 | 6th(Leaders) | |||||
| 2013 | Illinois | 4–8 | 1–7 | 5th(Leaders) | |||||
| 2014 | Illinois | 6–7 | 3–5 | 5th(West) | LHeart of Dallas | ||||
| Illinois: | 12–25 | 4–20 | |||||||
| Total: | 33–41 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||