Donald B. “Bud” Heilman, a long-time Associate Athletic Director and football coach for Rutgers University passed away in his home in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, on April 12, 2022, surrounded by family and friends according to a press release by the Rutgers Athletic Department, who issued a full press release on Thursday.
Heilman was 97 years old. He is predeceased by his wife of 62 years, and survived by his seven children, 14 grandchildren, six great grandchildren and their extended families.
A veteran of World War II, who saw action both in Europe and the Pacific, Heilman began his coaching and teaching career at Downingtown High School in Pennsylvania, before getting into coaching at Bloomsburg State Teachers College of Pennsylvania in 1958. That stop began a whirlwind of a career that would eventually land him at Rutgers as a line coach, before being appointed Associate Athletic Director in 1971 a post he held until his retirement in 1993.
According to Scarletknights.com, “He was instrumental in creating and expanding women’s sports at Rutgers under Title IX, and continued to serve the athletic division as a part-time employee until moving back to Berks County in Pennsylvania in 2008.”
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We mourn the passing of Donald B. "Bud" Heilman, long-time associate athletic director and former @RFootball coach. https://t.co/KjsKvn6ZNq
— Rutgers Scarlet Knights (@RUAthletics) April 27, 2022