College football coach Dana Dimel died Tuesday. He was 62.

The Illinois football program, for which Dimel was serving as a senior offensive assistant, confirmed his unexpected death.

The former coach died in his sleep, his agent, Pete Roussel, said.

Dimel spent six seasons as the head coach at UTEP before his most recent role at Illinois. He also served as the head coach at Wyoming in the late '90s before leading the Houston Cougars from 2000-02.

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Dimel earned All-American honors during his stint as an offensive lineman at Kansas State before he made the leap to coaching. After serving in a variety of assistant roles under Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, Dimel was named the Wildcats' offensive coordinator ahead of the 1995 season.

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Dimel returned to Kansas State in 2009 and regained his offensive coordinator title. His second stint with the Wildcats ended in 2017, but his complete tenure spanned 20 seasons. During that time, Dimel was part of a staff that coached in 12 bowl games and won the Big 12 championship in 2012.

Snyder released a statement Tuesday.

"Obviously, we are very saddened by the passing of Dana," Snyder said in a statement. "He was a special friend and coaching companion. I admired his passion for helping his players and fellow coaches. He was a big part of the development of the Kansas State football program, and, along with his wife Julie, very meaningful in the Manhattan community."

Dimel had a head coaching record at the FBS level of 50-88. Illinois named Dimel the football program's senior offensive assistant in July.

Illinois coach Bret Bielema said Dimel had an immeasurable impact on Illinois and college football.

"He affected the lives of countless coaches, players and staff members for more than three decades in college football," Bielema said in a statement. "His influence on our program was incredible to witness and be a part of. His infectious positive energy had a major impact on me, our players and everyone in our building every day. He will be dearly missed."

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Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano called a timeout Saturday, seconds before a 58-yard field goal attempt by Illinois kicker Ethan Moczulski. Rutgers led 31-30, and it's a score that would have held after Moczulski's kick sailed wide left — if not for Schiano's timeout. 

The timeout voided the play, and Illinois head coach Bret Bielema was able to see how the wind affected the kick from the sideline.  Bielema put his offense back on the field instead of trying the kick again, and his team scored the game-winning touchdown on a 40-yard catch by Pat Bryant. Illinois won 38-31. 

Schiano had to answer for the timeout after being blamed by fans for one of the most shocking and avoidable losses of the college football season. 

"Retrospectively, I wish hadn't," Schiano told reporters of the decision to call the timeout. 

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Still, Schiano offered a defense of the decision. 

"But you know, I'm not going to sit here and say I wish I hadn't because it didn't work out. If it worked out, I would sit here and say, 'Yeah, I'm glad I did.' I've said before. It was a good call because it worked. I've stood up here and said it's a bad call because it didn't work. That's the way it goes. You have about 12 seconds to make decisions, and you make them," Schiano said. 

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At the time, Rutgers was preparing for a potential kick from a player whose career-long field goal was 59 yards, a yard longer than what he would have needed to beat Rutgers with his leg. 

Still, the winds were so strong that nearby flags blew with ferocity, and the kick would have been going into the wind. 

The 58-year-old coach also explained how and why the team came to the decision to call a timeout before the kick. 

"We were going to call a timeout anyway. Maybe I should have done it before he kicked the ball," Schiano said. "So, it wouldn't have told, 'Oh, gee, that wind is strong. We can't make that kick.' But we had to make sure we knew what we were doing. I said, 'Hey, we have a timeout,’ there's no more media timeouts. So, we got to go. I said, 'That’s all right, we're going to call a timeout.'"

With the Illinois offense on the field for the next play, Schiano's defense blitzed, leaving fewer players in coverage for a potential pass down the field. The pass to Bryant was on a crossing route and wasn't to the end zone, but he outran Rutgers defenders for the score.

Schiano reiterated his intention was to win the game. 

"You do it and win the game, it's right call," Schiano said. 

"I don't defend, nor do I pat myself on the back when they are good decisions. That's your job is to make the decisions. You're a decision-maker. I just feel, like I said, the biggest thing is I feel pain for is those guys. It was their last game in that stadium, and they couldn't leave with a W. They accomplished a lot, but I really wanted that for them. But we don't always get what we want in life."

Rutgers fell to 6-5 and has already clinched a bowl game appearance. Illinois improved to 8-3, preserving its spot in the national rankings. 

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