RMU TRIBUTE IN MEMORIAM
Robert Morris University mourned the loss of two important individuals in 2019-20, including former football coach Dan Radakovich and former men’s lacrosse student-athlete Jack Toomb.
DAN RADAKOVICH
JACK TOOMB
Radakovich passed Feb. 20, 2020, at the age of 84. Born Nov. 26, 1935, and a native of Duquesne, Pa., Radakovich was the first coaching hire made by head coach Joe Walton when the RMU football program was established in 1993. He spent 13 years on the sideline in two different stints (1994, 1996-2007) with the Colonials as both defensive coordinator and assistant head coach.
Toomb passed March 16, 2020, at the age of 23. Born Sept. 5, 1996, Toomb was a cornerstone of RMU’s 2018 and 2019 NEC championship sides as a longstick midfielder and defender. Following graduation, he returned to his high school alma mater, Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, to serve as an assistant lacrosse coach.
Known as the patriarch of “Linebacker U” at alma mater Penn State, Radakovich, affectionately known as “Bad Rad,” left his undeniable mark at the position for RMU. A quick glance at the all-time leaders at Robert Morris for career tackles and eight of the top 10 marks, including each of the top five, are linebackers.
DAN RADAKOVICH
In addition to his work with the linebackers, Radakovich’s fingerprints are all over the top performances in RMU history on defense. In 1994, the first season the Colonials fielded an NCAA Division I-AA (now the Football Championship Subdivision) program, Robert Morris led NCAA Division I in turnover ratio (+17). He was also at the helm of a Robert Morris defense in 1996 that shut out each of its first three opponents. In 1999, the Colonials allowed just 15.6 points per game, which ranked sixth in the country. “Dan, as much as anybody, is responsible for the building of the Robert Morris football program,” former head coach Joe Walton said. “Any success we had goes equally to him. He was the best on-the-field coach I’ve ever seen.”
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2019-20 RMU ANNUAL REPORT
A three-time All-NEC Second Team selection, Toomb ranks third all-time at RMU in games played (65), fourth in groundballs (210), and fifth in groundballs per game (3.23) and caused turnovers (64). He recorded at least 44 groundballs in each of his four seasons, establishing a best of 68 in 2017, and eclipsed 20 caused turnovers with 21 as a senior. “Jack was a terrific competitor but an even better person,” said Robert Morris men’s lacrosse head coach Andrew McMinn. “His positive, fun-loving personality was infectious and he therefore touched more lives than most of us ever will. There is no way of explaining how much he will be missed but, because of who he was, he will continue to carry on and impact us in so many ways.”
JACK TOOMB
In July of 2020, former RMU teammate Tyson Gibson honored the late Toomb by wearing his last name and number 43 on the back of his jersey during the Major League Lacrosse (MLL) season.
