Illinois assistant coach Dana Dimel has died

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Longtime college football coach and former Kansas State All-American offensive tackle Dana Dimel died Tuesday at age 62, his family announced. He is survived by his wife Julie and children Winston and Josey.

Dimel was a 35-year veteran of the coaching community, including head coaching positions at Wyoming (1997-99), Houston (2000-2002) and UTEP (2018-13). Most recently, he helped Illinois to a 9-3 record in 2024 as the program’s senior offensive assistant.

“Today is a difficult day for college football and our Illini family,” head coach said Bret Bielema. “Dana was an extraordinary person, husband, father, friend and soccer coach. He impacted the lives of countless coaches, players and staff in college football for more than three decades. It was incredible to witness and experience his impact on our program.” Part of that. His infectious positive energy had a huge impact on me, our players and everyone in our building. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and family.

Dimel comes from the coaching line of Kansas State legend Bill Snyder and spent three stints on Snyder’s staff at Kansas State from 1984 to 1986 after an All-America career as an offensive tackle for the Wildcats. Dimel signed a free agent contract with the Minnesota Vikings and attended training camp in 1987 before beginning his coaching career. He was later recognized as a member of Kansas State’s All-Decade team in the 1980s.

In total, Dimel was part of 12 bowl teams during 19 seasons in Manhattan. The Wildcats recorded one 11-win season (2012) with a Big 12 championship, two 10-win seasons (1995 and 2011) and five nine-win seasons (1993, 1994, 1996, 2014 and 2016) during that span. Finished in the top 25 of the BCS and CFP rankings three times – 2011 (No. 8 BCS), 2012 (No. 5 BCS) and 2014 (No. 11 CFP).

Dimel, a native of Columbus, Ohio, collected the most wins of any active offensive coordinator in college football (61) from 2011 to 2017 and made eight consecutive bowl appearances. In total, in his 32 seasons as a head or assistant coach, Dimel coached 37 players who went on to play in the NFL.

Dimel earned a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from Kansas State in 1986. His son Winston was a three-time All-Big 12 fullback at Kansas State before joining his father in his first season as UTEP head coach in 2018.