A University of Northern Iowa (UNI) football player has died. He was 18.
Parker Sutherland died days short of his 19th birthday on Feb. 24, the school announced in a news release on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Cedar Falls Fire and Rescue was previously called to a university athletics facility on Thursday, Feb. 12, according to the Des Moines Register and The New York Times. First responders went to the scene after getting a “unconscious/fainting (non-trauma)” report.
The university did not reveal how Sutherland died. Joel Wauters, UNI’s assistant athletics director for communication, told the Des Moines Register that the cause of the 18-year-old’s death was not released out of respect for his family.
UNI’s director of athletics, Megan Franklin, said in a statement, per the news release, “It is a heartbreaking day for our Panther Athletics family.”
She continued, “We are devastated — just devastated. The blessing is that we have a Panther family who will hold the Sutherland family, our football team, and our athletics staff close as we grieve.”
UNI head football coach Todd Stepsis added that he was “heartbroken” by the loss of the college athlete, whom he described as having “embodied everything we look for in a UNI Football Panther.”
“His talent and potential excited us on a daily basis, but it failed to compare to the type of person and teammate he was,” Stepsis continued of Sutherland. “His character, humility, toughness and genuine love of others are what champions are made of.”
Added the coach: “While I’m saddened that our time together was short, we will celebrate the bright light that he brought to our football team for the rest of our lives.”
Sutherland played just four games with the Panthers as a tight end in 2025 before his death. His jersey number was 89.
Prior to joining the Panthers at UNI, he attended Iowa City High School, where he was a “second-team all-state performer” who similarly “excelled in basketball and baseball.”
Sutherland also enjoyed playing “video games, watching movies, pickleball and Legos,” according to UNI’s athletics website.
He is survived by his parents, Adam and Jill Sutherland, and a sister, Georgia Sutherland.
UNI said that it “extends its sincerest condolences to Parker’s family and friends during this difficult time.”
The school added that “support services” would be available to UNI students, faculty and staff in light of Sutherland’s death.