USU Eastern Mourns Death of Head Basketball Coach
Utah State University-College of Eastern Utah Chancellor Joe Peterson said the school will provide grief counseling and other support services dealing with issues of personal loss surrounding the untimely death of men’s basketball Head Coach Brad Barton. His body was found in his apartment late Tuesday afternoon.
“We mourn the passing of Coach Brad Barton,” Peterson said. “The campus and community are in shock. Brad was an important part of not only the athletics program, but of the entire USU Eastern family.”
Peterson said the college’s first concern is for the welfare of its student athletes.
“Brad was a good friend and mentor in addition to being their coach,” he said. “We have provided grief counseling and other support services to deal with issues of personal loss.”
The college will also provide transportation to the funeral in Ogden. Plans for a memorial service on campus at a later time are being discussed, he said.
Peterson said plans for the future of the school’s basketball program and coaching decisions are on hold until next week.
Earlier today (Oct. 5), Peterson gathered students, faculty and others to talk about the unexpected death. He was joined by Counselor Jan Thornton in the student center to discuss methods for dealing with grief. He requested faculty teaching morning classes to be lenient with students who chose to attend the gathering.
“His untimely death comes as a great shock and loss to the college and our basketball team,” he posted in an email statement to the college community. “We express our heartfelt condolences to his family during this difficult time. We are also very mindful of students, faculty and staff who will mourn his loss.”
The Sun Advocate, in Price, reported that the state medical examiner’s office is involved in trying to determine the cause of death but that police said they found no sign of foul play at the apartment near the college where the 31-year-old coach resided.
Barton has been head coach for USU Eastern since June. He served as interim coach during the previous season in which he helped to guide the team to a record of 23-7, with three of those losses at the hands of national champion College of Southern Idaho.
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