Longtime coach Dunbar dies at 64

Published Sep. 15, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Mike Dunbar, a longtime college football coach who most recently served as Northern Illinois' offensive coordinator, has died following a battle with cancer.

He was 64.

Northern Illinois announced his death Sunday. The school said he passed away two days earlier in his hometown of Dupont, Wash. NIU was his final stop in a 36-year career.

He was diagnosed with cancer shortly after he joined former coach Dave Doeren's staff in February 2012 and stepped aside after the season opener that year to focus on his health.

Dunbar spent 12 years as a head coach, going 83-24-1 at Central Washington from 1987-91 and Northern Iowa from 1997-2000. He was also offensive coordinator at Toledo, California, Minnesota, Northwestern and New Mexico State.