He was taken off life support before his death was confirmed on Tuesday. Derek Phillips, a University of Iowa band member, has died three days after suffering a cardiac arrest during extreme heat at a football game.
They added, “He just had the absolute summer of his life touring in drum and bugle corps. We are so grateful for that experience.
His family also said, “Derek brought so much light, humor and kindness into this world.”
Temperatures reached 94 degrees in Iowa City on Saturday, according to ESPN. The football game against Northern Illinois started as scheduled, with the temperature at 90 degrees.
Phillips suffered a “sudden cardiac arrest” on Saturday, shortly before the band was set to perform its halftime show, according to a message posted to his Instagram account by his family.
In the Instagram statement, his family wrote, “Despite the extraordinary efforts of the ICU team at the University of Iowa Hospital, the damage to his brain was too severe, and we have made the heartbreaking decision to remove life support. “It’s just a really, really, very, very sad thing.
Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz opened his Tuesday news conference by acknowledging Phillips’ death, saying he was “heartbroken” to learn about it. “On behalf of everybody associated with our program, we just want to offer our thoughts, our condolences to his family, his friends and all the people he impacted, certainly, in his life,” Ferentz said. The Hawkeye Marching Band said in a statement , “Derek Phillips was our mellophone section leader, a beloved member of the School of Music horn studio, and the kind of friend, student, and musician that represents the very best of what it means to be a Hawkeye.”
