© 2024 Public Radio Tulsa
800 South Tucker Drive
Tulsa, OK 74104
(918) 631-2577

A listener-supported service of The University of Tulsa
classical 88.7 | public radio 89.5
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Funeral for Linebacker

By AP

Enid, OK – Funeral held for Oklahoma linebacker Box

(Information in the following story is from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com)

ENID, Okla. (AP) Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops remembered linebacker Austin Box at his funeral for bringing joy to his teammates and playing a key role in two Big 12 championship runs by the Sooners.

Stoops said in his eulogy at an Enid church on Friday that Box "gave us all all he had" and then presented Box's parents with a helmet and game jersey. Defensive coordinator Brent Venables promised to "keep his dignity and his memory and his spirit alive on our team."

Box died May 19 at an El Reno home where police responded to a call that the injury-plagued player may have overdosed on painkillers. The state medical examiner is awaiting toxicology test results.

Box's pastor, Wade Burleson, asked that Box be "defined by his life" and not how he died.