HANOVER — Sammy McCorkle, a longtime Dartmouth College football assistant coach, has been promoted to interim head coach for the 2023 season, the school announced this week.

McCorkle, who’s been on the Big Green staff for 18 years and who became associate head coach in 2014, will fill in for head coach Buddy Teevens, who was seriously injured on March 16 when he was struck by a pickup truck while riding his bicycle in St. Augustine, Fla.

McCorkle, who coaches defensive backs and special teams, was promoted to acting head coach before the start of spring practice, which concluded last weekend.

“Sammy has done a remarkable job leading the team during this challenging time,” athletic director Mike Harrity said in a news release. “He has kept everyone within the program focused and purposeful as we prepare to compete for another Ivy League title this fall and (to) make Buddy proud.”

There have been no publicly released quotes from or photos of Teevens since the collision, which resulted in a spinal injury and leg amputation. Harrity declined an interview request last week, but Teevens’ wife, Kirsten, was also quoted in the release.

“As Buddy continues to focus on his recovery, he has complete confidence in Coach McCorkle and his staff,” Kirsten Teevens said. “Buddy and I are … always cheering on all the players from afar while missing our Dartmouth football family every single day.”

A Florida State Police crash report released roughly two weeks after the crash cited Buddy Teevens’ “failure to yield the right of way” as contributing to the collision. Driver Jennifer Blong was estimated to have been traveling 50 mph in a 45 mph zone.

Buddy Teevens is 117-101-2 in two stints as his alma mater’s head football coach. He coached Dartmouth from 1987-91, sharing one Ivy League title and winning another outright. He left for Tulane and was an assistant at Illinois and Florida before becoming head coach at Stanford.

Teevens returned to the Big Green in 2005. Dartmouth shared the league title in 2015, 2019 and 2021. Teevens was honored as the New England coach of the year in 1990, 2015 and 2019.

Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.

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