Tim Clifford, Indiana Football’s 1979 Big Ten MVP Quarterback, Dies At 65

Tim Clifford led Indiana to its first-ever bowl victory, scoring three total touchdowns in a 38-37 win over BYU in the 1979 Holiday Bowl. He passed away Wednesday at 65 years old.

Former Indiana quarterback Tim Clifford, the 1979 Big Ten MVP, died Wednesday at age 65. / Indiana University Archives

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Tim Clifford, the 1979 Big Ten Most Valuable Player and quarterback of Indiana’s Holiday Bowl winning team, died at age 65 due to heart complications. 

Clifford was scheduled to have a triple bypass surgery on Thursday, but he passed away on Wednesday night in Cincinnati, Ohio. Along with approximately 75 players and staff members from Indiana’s 1979 Holiday Bowl team, Clifford planned to be in Bloomington this weekend for their 45-year reunion. 

“We lost a great player and a great friend,” Harold Mauro, who played at Indiana and was the offensive line coach in 1979, told Indiana Hoosiers On SI. “But we’re going to continue on, and he would want us to do that. He’ll be up looking down on us from heaven.”

Clifford was a co-captain for the Hoosiers in 1979 and 1980 and earned the team’s most valuable player award both seasons. Indiana went 14-9 across those two seasons with Clifford at quarterback. 

He scored three total touchdowns and helped Indiana win its first-ever bowl game in 1979, defeating a previously undefeated BYU team 38-37 in the Holiday Bowl.

“That team was a big family,” former Indiana linebacker Terry Tallen, Clifford’s co-captain and college roommate, told Indiana Hoosiers On SI. “We were family, we were really close, but we were really tough. We enjoyed taking our tough, Big Ten brand of football out to San Diego and showing Brigham Young what it was all about.”

Tim Clifford graduated as Indiana's all-time leading passer. / Indiana University Archives

“He was just one of those guys and one of the leaders of the team that had a never-die attitude, and he threw the ball all around the field,” former Indiana running back Tony D’Orazio told Indiana Hoosiers On SI. “We had great tailbacks that ran hard, and we had a really good defense. It was a special time for sure.”

Clifford graduated as Indiana’s all-time leader in passing yards, and he currently ranks 10th in program history in career passing yards (4,338), 10th in career attempts (631) and ninth in career passing touchdowns (31). He also lettered as a pitcher on the Indiana baseball team from 1978-80. Clifford was inducted into the Indiana Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.

“Tim was a leader. He showed by example. When he got on the field, we always knew we had a chance,” former Indiana running back Lonnie Johnson told Indiana Hoosiers On SI. “He always motivated me because we would get in the huddle … and whenever he would call a play for me, he would look me right in my eyes and I would look in his eyes, and he didn’t say anything, it was just the look he gave me, like, ‘We’re gonna do this,’ and I always shook my head, like, ‘Yeah, let’s do this.’ … I’m gonna really miss him.”

After graduating from Indiana, Clifford became the 260th overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He was involved with the Catholic church in Cincinnati and is survived by his wife, Kelly, three children and eight grandchildren.

“Tim was a great man, a great husband, father, friend, teammate and athlete,” Tallen said. “Tim and I have been lifelong friends, and we’re very grateful that coach Corso brought us together and made us roommates.”

The Holiday Bowl team was coached by Lee Corso, who will be part of ESPN’s College GameDay pregame show ahead of Saturday’s Noon ET kickoff against Washington. Tallen said Corso plans to attend the reunion.

“We’re all very, very excited about that,” Tallen said. “I talked to coach today, so he’s on his way and he's as excited as can be. He’s very sad to hear about Tim Clifford, but he’s very excited to be here this weekend. It means a lot to him, and it means a lot to us to have him here.”

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