Scott Bostwick, 49, Head Football Coach At NW Missouri State, Suffers Fatal Heart Attack

 President John Jasinski, athletic director Wren Baker, former head coach Mel Tjeersdma and the remaining members of the current coaching staff stood together in a row, each one wearing the emotional strain of the day’s events.

None of them could’ve forseen that Bostwick, 49, would suffer a fatal heart attack on Sunday morning, sending Bearcat nation into a collective state of shock.

“It’s a tough day,” said Tjeerdsma. “It’s a day we weren’t expecting. We’re all hurting right now. Just like Wren said and Dr. Jasinski said, we’re all Bearcats. We’re family, and that’s what’s going to get us through. Our focus right now is on family and everything we can do to help them.”

The grieving process began with a team meeting and an impromptu press conference that was used as a tribute to a man who most everyone in the Bearcat community held in high regard.

Baker opened the press conference by making a brief statement concerning Bostwick’s death.

He mentioned the team meeting that took place earlier in the day saying, “we laughed and cried as we took turns talking about coach Bostwick, what he stood for and what he meant to each of us.”

Jasinski followed with a series of remarks in which he praised Bostwick’s love of family, his integrity and his passion for the job.

“When you think about the Bearcats over the last over 100 years, he stands with everyone of the best Bearcats ever. Period,” said Jasinski.

Jasinski concluded his remarks by saying, “goodbye papa Bearcat.”

During the question and answer session that followed, each of the coaches offered their rememberances of a man who they loved and respected both personally and professionally.

Tjeerdsma, who hired Bostwick as his defensive coordinator in 1993, was the first to speak on his behalf.

“He brought a lot of life to our program,” said Tjeerdsma. “There’s no doubt about that. Energy, enthusiasm, you can just go on and on. More so now than ever before. The last five months when he was leading the program it was fun to see because he was so excited about having that opportunity. That was his strength. He was a motivator. He was a hard motivator, but a motivator through love, too.”

Offensive coordinator Adam Dorrel said he appreciated the fact that Bostwick was always honest with him both as a player and a coach.

“I was an offensive lineman, and I think that’s one of the things I learned from him was he was brutally honest with you,” said Dorrel. “I think at that age when you’re 18 or 19 and you first get here, your parents always tell you what you want to here. Scott was one of the first people in my life that didn’t tell you that. We always knew where you stood with him. The kids always knew where they stood with him.”

Dorrel also noted that while Bostwick had the perception as a no-non-sense, in-your-face kind of guy, he deeply cared about his players and would go out of his way to offer praise.

Richard Wright, who took over for Bostwick as the team’s defensive coordinator when he became head coach, credits much of his football expertise to spending time around Bostwick.

“A lot of what I learned about defensive football, I learned from coach Bostwick and my job isn’t to re-invent the wheel,” said Wright. “He’s going to be a big part of this, and he will always be.”

Wright estimates they spent an hour sharing stories about Bostwick during the team meeting, and if they had time, “we could’ve stayed four or five more.”

“We all had a good coach Bostwick story,” said Wright. “He was an amazing person. I don’t think that he realized how many people he touched.”

Even Baker, who only knew Bostwick for a few months, was blown away with his passion for Bearcat football.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever been around a coach who lived it more than Scott,” said Baker. “He ate, slept and breathed Bearcat football. It was contagious, and it was impressive.”

Bostwick accepted the head coaching job in December after Tjeerdsma announced his retirement.

He had spent the previous 26 years as a defensive coordinator, the last 17 at Northwest.

This, by all accounts was Bostwick’s dream job, and all of his assistants shared in the disappointment that he never got to coach his first game.

“It was his turn to lead our program,” said Dorrel. “That’s what’s hard for us right now as a coaching staff because he was genuinely excited about that.”

Bostwick’s death came a day after the team hosted its first in a series of weekend camps in June.