via Bethune-Cookman Athletic Communications:
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman University Athletics has learned that former football assistant coach Chris Isaac, who also enjoyed unmatched success playing on every level of football, has passed away at the age of 61.
Isaac coached at Bethune-Cookman from 1996-2002 and 2004-07, overseeing the wide receivers. He was a part of the Wildcats’ 2002 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship program that made its first FCS playoff appearance, and returned after a stint as Head Coach at Deltona High School.
“Chris was a great, awesome individual who I have nothing but love for,” former Bethune-Cookman head coach Alvin Wyatt Sr. said. “He brought of lot of common sense to the program. He was well-liked and players had the utmost respect for him. He was committed to Bethune-Cookman and did everything in his power to elevate the program to the highest level.”
Under his tutelage, James Adderley set career records for receptions, yardage and touchdowns (219-3,557-30) that still stand in the B-CU record book. Other great Wildcat receivers under Isaac include Super Bowl participant Eric Weems and Erik Lash (1,006 yards in 2002).
Isaac also served as an assistant at Mainland HS, Father Lopez HS and New Smyrna Beach HS and as a math teacher at Pine Ridge HS.
An All-State quarterback/punter, Isaac was part of a legendary New Smyrna Beach HS program from 1974-77. In one of the greatest games ever played in Volusia County in 1975, he led the Barracudas to a 22-21 upset over a Titusville Astronaut team that had Cris Collinsworth at quarterback and Wilber Marshall at linebacker. He was named the Daytona Beach News-Journal’sMale Athlete of The Year.
He played his college ball at Eastern Kentucky, where he was a member of EKU’s 1979 I-AA National Championship team and was starting quarterback for back-to-back national runners-up finishes his junior and senior seasons. He concluded his career as EKU’s seventh leading all-time passer with 3,611 yards and was enshrined in the EKU Hall of Fame in 2012.
Isaac joined the CFL’s Ottawa Rough Riders in 1982. In his first start against Montreal, he set the team record with 471 yards passing and tied a record with five touchdown passes, four on audibles. He finished the year with 18 touchdown passes and 3,408 yards, earning the CFL’s Outstanding Rookie Award. He would only play one more year in 1983 before returning home.
He is survived by his wife, Sharon Bostick-Isaac, three children – Derrell Beverly, Jalisa Isaac, a former B-CU basketball player and stepson Paul Rimini as well as as three grandchildren, Lexus Toliver, Anthony Rimini, Markia Rimini, a freshman at EKU.
