IDS Thursday, September 5, 2024
INSIDE
2024 BIG TEN GUIDE
Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com
Loved ones cherish Owen McDonough’s spirit "He was just the happiest guy ever."
By Natalie Fitzgibbons natfitzg@iu.edu
When Owen McDonough was around 8 years old, his two older sisters, Jennifer and Bailey, were giving out gifts one Christmas. Owen didn’t have anything to give. Brien McDonough, his dad, said Owen disappeared for a moment. When he came back, he sat beneath the Christmas tree and handed out $20 from his birthday stash money. "We thought that was cute and hilarious,” Brien said. “Very much like Owen.” Owen died July 28 in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. He was just 20. The rising IU junior was swimming at Whale Beach with friends when he was overcome by rough waters. After several minutes underwater, he was pulled ashore, but medics from the North Tahoe Fire Department were unable to resuscitate him. Owen was studying sports media and wanted to become a sports broadcaster. He was the color commentator for the IU club hockey team last season and helped with pre, post and intermission shows, as well working as a media tech. This season he was supposed to be the playby-play announcer for the team. He previously worked for the Indiana Daily Student covering IU club hockey for the sports desk. Owen was a hugger and would welcome people who met him with open arms. “Even if he’d only met them like three times in his life, he’d still hugged you like he knew you for 10,” his mom Melissa said. One of Melissa’s most treasured photos of her son is from a family photoshoot when he was around 2-years-old (top right). He’s pictured wearing a white button-down shirt and red plaid tie, holding a football in his hands with rosy cheeks and his two front teeth peeking out through his smile. The vibrant energy that he carried through his daily life translated to his goal to become a sports broadcaster. Melissa said that in this photo, Owen looked ready to be a sports broadcaster. Named after former San Jose Sharks winger, Owen Nolan, Owen became a huge fan of the NHL team at a young age. He became a Las Vegas Raiders fan when Melissa bought him the NFL team’s pajamas when he was 3. He also supported the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces and had memorabilia of IU and his favorite sport teams in his rooms at home and at IU. In a text message, Brien said that Owen’s ultimate goal was to replace longtime Sharks play-by-play commentator Randy Hahn. “Owen had it planned out — right around the time Randy would hit retirement, Owen would be
2. 1. COURTESY PHOTOS
1. Owen McDonough sits next to the statue of Herman B Wells on IU's campus February 2024. Owen was going into his junior year at IU studying sports media. 2. Owen McDonough, 2 at the time, poses with a football in his arms for a family photo. Melissa, his mom, said he looked like he was ready to be a sports broadcaster.
3.
3. Owen McDonough sits in the stands at a San Jose Sharks home game April 2024. Owen was named after former Sharks winger Owen Nolan. 4. Owen McDonough poses with arms outstretched in spring of 2024. Owen was a hugger, his mom Melissa said, and would welcome those he met with open arms. 5. Owen McDonough stands outside one of Franklin Hall's media labs February 2024. Owen wanted to become a sports broadcaster once he graduated.
ready to step in,” Brien said in the message. “It sounds crazy but I wouldn’t have bet against him.” Brien took Owen to a Golden State Warriors game when he was 6. When the Warriors executed a great play, Owen turned around to face the crowd. With a lisp he had as a child, he said to the crowd, “somebody call the cops.” People around him were repeating the phrase and giving him high fives. “He had such a passion for his team and his players, and really just a knack for rooting for the underdog, too,” Melissa said. In Owen’s house at IU, Sundays were dedicated to watching football. Noah Blair, a junior at IU and Owen’s roommate since sophomore year, emphasized that Owen was ener-
4. getic and would get into the game, yelling and screaming at the TV. “It was always loud in the house when Sunday came around,” Blair said. Owen and Blair met freshman year while living on the same floor of Teter
Quadrangle. They were roommates last year and would have been roommates this year and next, along with their three other roommates. SEE OWEN, PAGE 4
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Bloomington's 7 Day Forecast
SOURCE: THE WEATHER CHANNEL GRAPHICS BY: LEXI LINDENMAYER
Thursday Sept. 5
Friday Sept. 6
Saturday Sept. 7
Sunday Sept. 8
Monday Sept. 9
Tuesday Sept. 10
Wednesday Sept. 11
89° 65° P: 9%
80° 50° P: 24%
70° 43°
73° 46° P: 6%
80° 50° P: 4%
85° 54° P: 4%
87° 57° P: 3%
P: 6%