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September 29, 2006 > News > Lovett freshman dies suddenly

Lovett freshman dies suddenly

Dale Lloyd remembered for dedication to football and Rice

By Beko Binder and David Brown | Thresher Editorial Staff

Following Lovett College freshman Dale Lloyd’s sudden and still unexplained death, students remembered him for his kindness, sense of humor and passion for Lovett and Rice football.

A defensive back on the football team, Lloyd collapsed at a conditioning workout Sunday evening. He lost consciousness after being taken to the hospital and died Monday morning.

A candlelight vigil was held at Lovett Thursday evening in honor of Lloyd, following a private ceremony for the football team and Lloyd’s family.

Lloyd’s death comes only three weeks after Wiess College freshman Chris Williams died in a car crash and marks the fourth student death at Rice in the last calendar year.

A Houston native and Lamar High School graduate, Lloyd was recruited by Head Football Coach Todd Graham. Having long aspired to attend Rice, Lloyd spent the summer on campus taking classes and working out with the football team. During Orientation Week, his friends said, Lloyd stood out in his enthusiasm for his college and his peers.

“Dale was by far the most dynamic guy I’ve met in a long time,” Lloyd’s O-Week adviser Michelle Kerner, a Wiess junior, said. “He seriously always had a smile on his face. He loved everything he did.”

Most Sundays following a Saturday game, the football team practices in the evening and conditions after the practice. This week, with players banged up after the Owls’ loss Saturday to Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla., Graham said he decided to forgo the practice and just hold conditioning — a 25-minute weightlifting session followed by a 20-minute run. Toward the end of the run, Lloyd stepped out and told trainers he did not feel well.

According to an account given by Lovett Master Bernard Aresu at a meeting with Lovett students Monday, trainers called Rice Emergency Medical Services at 5:19 p.m. REMS arrived within four minutes and treated Lloyd, who was taken by ambulance at 5:30 p.m. to Hermann Memorial Hospital, where he was admitted to the emergency room at 5:45 p.m.

Aresu said Lloyd collapsed on the field before being taken to the hospital, but that he did not lose consciousness until he arrived at the hospital. Lloyd never regained consciousness.

Graham, who was at the hospital with Lloyd’s family, said Lloyd’s condition deteriorated over the next 14 hours. Doctors were unable to determine the cause of Lloyd’s condition, and he died at about 9 a.m.

The Harris County Medical Examiner began an autopsy Tuesday, but as of Thursday morning, tests were still pending and the cause of death had not been determined.

Remembering Lloyd

Off the field, Lloyd was outgoing, talkative and funny. Lovett O-Week coordinators and advisers praised Lloyd for his enthusiastic participation in O-Week, something unusual for a football player faced with rigorous training the same week, they said.

Kerner said Lloyd loved O-Week, and he loved Lovett. He gave up time he could have been sleeping to bond with the group, go to karaoke and go bowling, an activity he was fanatical about.

Kerner said she jokingly called Lloyd “Hollywood” because he spent much of his free time during O-Week talking on a new cell phone, even when the person he was speaking with was sitting two tables away in the Lovett Commons. Lloyd returned the jesting, making frequent cracks about the Lamar football team’s dominance over Kerner’s own high school, Bellaire.

“Once you got to know him and he got to know you, he would open up and tell you everything, and he would make you laugh,” Kerner said. “He would make fun of you, but you would laugh too, because he was so hilarious.”

On the football field, however, Lloyd was quiet and tenacious — good at blitzing, very physical and one of the best tacklers at his position, Graham said. A former defensive coordinator and safeties coach, Graham spent a lot of time coaching Lloyd, who played bandit safety in the Owls’ defense.

“Every drill he did 100 miles an hour,” Graham said. “You never had to tell Dale to buckle his chin strap, you never had to tell him to not be at the back of the line. He was a very self-motivated young man, a ‘yes sir, no sir’ guy. He didn’t have a lot to say, but he ran to the ball with a passion.”

Lloyd’s teammates remember his on-field persona as extremely determined and hard working. Lovett sophomore Justin Abt, a football player, spoke about Lloyd at the Lovett meeting.

“He was a hard worker,” Abt said. “He never gave up. He gave it everything he had, and when we were working out, no matter how bad he felt, he finished the workout no matter what.”

Graham said Lloyd served as an example to teammates and classmates. He praised Lloyd for his hard work in classes, his commitment to his family, and his strong faith and involvement in his church.

Graham said he could tell from players’ reactions to Lloyd’s death that he had a significant impact on the team. When the team first gathered after Lloyd’s death, Graham said every player and staff member was in tears.

“It’s amazing a guy who talked as little as Dale did had that much influence on not only the freshman class but all the guys in the room,” Graham said.

The football team returned to practice Tuesday. Graham said although he considered canceling Saturday’s game against Army, he was persuaded by other coaches, players and Lloyd’s family to press on. He said the football team will honor Lloyd for the rest of the season by wearing his number, 39, on their helmets between the owl wings — and by bringing Lloyd’s jersey to all of their games.

Lloyd’s funeral will take place Sunday afternoon. The viewing, from 1:30-3 p.m., and the service, from 3-4:30 p.m., will be held at Second Baptist Church. The graveside service will be at Houston Memorial Gardens beginning at 5 p.m.

Lloyd is survived by his parents, Dale and Bridgette Lloyd, and two brothers.

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