Former Michigan State University hockey player Dan Sturges has died “unexpectedly” at the age of 40.
“Dan Sturges was a beloved member of the Michigan State hockey family, and our entire community is stunned at this devastating news,” Michigan State head hockey coach Adam Nightingale announced on Monday, January 19, confirming the former player’s death. “He was an adoring father and a devoted husband, and our hearts break for his wife Becky and their sons.”
Becky, a former field hockey player at Michigan State, met Dan during their overlapping time as student-athletes. They got married in 2013 and share two sons: Kellan and Cooper.
No cause of death has been revealed.
Dan was a member of the 2007 national championship team at Michigan State. He returned to the program in 2019 and was the acting Director of Hockey Operations at the time of his death.
“As a player and later as a member of our staff, Dan loved being a Spartan and worked every day to make the program the best it possibly could be,” Nightingale, 46, continued on Monday. “His passion, dedication and impact will leave a lasting legacy.”
Michigan State University Vice President and Director of Athletics J Batt added, “The prayers of the Michigan State athletics family are with the Sturges family and the entire Spartan hockey program. He cared deeply about the student-athletes and staff in the hockey program, and built genuine relationships with people throughout the department.”
Batt, 43, concluded. “To lose him so suddenly is a shock to all. The department’s top priority at this time will be providing supportive resources to members of the hockey program and athletic department as they grieve.”
Becky reflected on the early days of her relationship with Dan in an article for the MSU Varsity S Club in 2022.
“Dan came to cheer me on at my field hockey games and I enjoyed going to freeze at his games,” she wrote. “Our two teams even played a field hockey scrimmage against each other in a spring training session and to this day it is still highly debated over who the winner was. Dan’s teammates and their significant others became my friends and my teammates theirs.”
She continued, “I can still remember watching MSU ice hockey win the National Championship in 2007 and then waiting for their flight to return so we could celebrate in person. Those are memories that I will treasure forever.”
After graduating from college, Becky worked for 12 years as a zookeeper at the Denver Zoo. When Dan was offered the chance to return to work at their alma mater, however, the couple knew what they needed to do.
“It was an easy decision for our family to make,” Becky wrote. “Being able to experience the Michigan State student athlete experience from a different vantage point gives me a sense of pride and excitement for this new era of young athletes. We love being back in East Lansing with our two boys, Kellan and Cooper, and experiencing all the Spartan traditions through their eyes.”
