A coroner’s report has now identified the cause of death for former Wisconsin football player Jack Pugh, who died on March 30 at age 24.
The Franklin County Coroner’s Office listed acute bronchopneumonia as the official cause. The report said the lung infection developed as a consequence of cardiomyopathy, and it also noted hepatosplenomegaly. Officials confirmed the findings nearly five months after his death.
Pugh played tight end for the Wisconsin Badgers from 2021 to 2023, though his on-field role was limited. He redshirted one season and appeared in just one game before medically retiring ahead of the 2023 season.
At the time, Pugh explained in a public post that he was stepping away because of his mental health. He wrote:
“My physical health was not near perfect, but my mental health was the reason I decided to hang it up,” he wrote at the time. “Over years of prolonged depression and substance abuse, I decided I deserved a better life and to finally find happiness.
Scroll to continue reading latest in Wisconsin Badgers news “In no way was football the root of these problems, but everything in my life had distracted me for so long to the point I didn’t want to be alive for years. I never had prioritized my mental health all along, digging a deeper darker hole.”
The university later confirmed that he earned his degree from UW-Madison in 2025.
Before the coroner’s findings were released, no public statement had spelled out the medical factors behind his death.
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Former Wisconsin Players Death Takes A More Heartbreaking Turn
Jack Pughs death at 24 has already left a painful mark on Wisconsin football, but the details that have emerged since March 30 only add to the sense of loss. The former Badgers tight end had medically retired before the 2023 season after opening up about prolonged depression and substance abuse, and he later earned his degree from UW-Madison in 2025, a milestone that stood as a hopeful note in a difficult story.
The Franklin County Coroners Office said Pugh also had hepatosplenomegaly, underscoring how complicated and serious the circumstances were. For a program that watched him come through Madison, step away from the game, and still push through to finish school, the news brings a sharper and more heartbreaking turn to a life and career that ended far too soon. [Read more 🡒]
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