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Bill McCartney speaks at a 2003 Promise Keepers event in Denver. Screengrab from YouTube

‘Gone to Glory’: Promise Keepers Founder Bill McCartney Dies

Promise Keepers founder Bill McCartney, who transformed college football and launched a groundbreaking Christian men’s movement, died on January 10 after battling dementia. He was 84.

“Our beloved founder, Coach Mac, has gone to glory,” Promise Keepers posted to its social media of McCartney’s death on Jan. 10.

“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Bill McCartney, beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend, who left this world peacefully at the age of 84 after a courageous journey with dementia,” his family also wrote in a statement. “Our father surrendered his life to Jesus at 33 years old, setting a trajectory for our family and many others. We share his faith in Jesus and truly believe our dad has been reunited in heaven with his beloved bride and our mother, Lynne Marie.”

His greatest legacy was his Christian faith, which shaped both his coaching career and his ministry work. The Michigan native attended the University of Missouri on a football scholarship and lettered three times as a center and linebacker for the Tigers. He played in two Orange Bowl games and was named second-team All-Big 8 as a senior. He graduated from Missouri in 1962 with a degree in education and immediately turned his attention to coaching. His first job was as an assistant at Joplin High School in 1963 and 1964.

McCartney was active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and was voted the FCA’s man of the year in Colorado for 1986. He was also one of the cofounders of Promise Keepers, one of the nation’s fastest-growing Christian organizations in the late 1990s and for whom he worked and represented for almost a decade after retiring from coaching.

McCartney and his friend, Dave Wardell, on their way to an FCA event, dreamed up the idea for a movement of Christian men who would gather together in football stadiums for renewal and revival; men would then return home empowered to be spiritual leaders. It started with a small group of 70 men, growing to 4,200 in 1991 and more than one million in 1996. The historic rally in Washington drew hundreds of thousands of men in 1997. According to sociologist James Mathisen, it was “the decade’s most unexpected and immediately successful movement within the American church.”

Under McCartney’s leadership, the Colorado Buffaloes achieved their only national championship in 1990, cementing his place in college football history. He was the winningest coach in Colorado history, with a record of 93-55-5. His Hall of Fame career included three Big Eight titles and numerous coach of the year honors. “Coach Mac touched countless lives with his unwavering faith, boundless compassion and enduring legacy as a leader, mentor and advocate for family, community and faith,” his family wrote. “As a trailblazer and visionary, his impact was felt both on and off the field, and his spirit will forever remain in the hearts of those he inspired. While we mourn his loss, we also celebrate the extraordinary life he lived and the love he shared with everyone around him. We are grateful for the outpouring of prayers and support during this time and ask for privacy as we navigate this difficult moment.”

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