Pugh left football in 2023 and later spoke publicly about depression and substance abuse, and the university said he earned his UW-Madison degree in 2025.
MADISON, Wis. — Former Wisconsin tight end Jack Pugh has died, the university’s football program said Tuesday night in a social media statement, bringing renewed attention to a player whose career ended in 2023 after he spoke publicly about his mental health.
The announcement carried weight beyond a normal team update because Pugh had already become known to many Wisconsin fans through the way he explained his exit from the sport. When he retired, he described years of depression and substance abuse in unusually direct terms for a college athlete, making his departure part of a wider conversation inside football about life away from the field. Wisconsin did not say how he died or give further details in its statement, but it said Pugh remained part of the Badgers community after football and earned his degree from UW-Madison in 2025. Former teammates and fans responded within hours, turning the news into a moment of grief for a program that had once viewed him as one of its promising young tight ends.
Pugh arrived at Wisconsin as part of the 2021 recruiting class after a fast rise at Hilliard Bradley High School in the Columbus, Ohio, area. The school roster lists him as a 6-foot-5 tight end and personal finance major, and Wisconsin’s football site says he enrolled early, redshirted in 2021 and made his college debut in the Badgers’ regular-season finale against Minnesota on Nov. 26, 2022. That season also brought Academic All-Big Ten honors. He did not appear again in a game, and by the time the 2023 season arrived he had already decided to step away. In a message he later shared publicly that December, Pugh wrote that “my mental health was the reason” he stopped playing. He added that years of depression and substance abuse had pushed him to seek “a better life” and a chance to “finally find happiness.”
Wisconsin’s statement focused less on statistics than on the person teammates and staff said they knew off the field. The school said Pugh was a “positive light” who brought “a genuine spirit” to the program and said he “cared about people” and was “loved by his teammates and staff.” It also said he “proudly earned his degree” in 2025 and “will forever be remembered and loved.” Local station WMTV reported the post appeared Tuesday night. The university statement did not say when or where Pugh died. Early reports available Wednesday also did not identify a cause of death, leaving the public record centered on tributes, roster facts and Pugh’s own earlier words about why he left football. Even with those gaps, the school made one point clear: it wanted him remembered not only as a former player, but as a graduate who stayed connected to Madison after his playing days ended.
Pugh’s football path was unusual enough to draw attention well before he reached campus. Wisconsin’s roster credits ESPN with rating him a four-star recruit, while 247Sports listed him among the top tight ends in the 2021 class and ranked him the No. 6 player at the position and No. 159 overall. The same official roster says he was second-team All-Central District as a senior. Recruiting reports said he had spent the first part of high school focused on basketball and played only his final two seasons of football, yet still drew offers from across the Big Ten and beyond. Wisconsin made his final six schools, along with Cincinnati, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State. In 2020, his father, Dan Pugh, told 247Sports that Wisconsin’s coaches were “down to earth” and made his son feel comfortable. Once he got to Madison, Pugh joined a tight ends room that coaches described as close and “very supportive.”
What comes next is narrower and more private than in many sports stories. There are no charges, hearings or league proceedings tied to the announcement, and Wisconsin has not publicly outlined any memorial plans beyond its initial statement. As of Wednesday, the known facts were limited: the program confirmed Pugh’s death Tuesday night, it remembered him as a valued teammate and graduate, and outside reports said no cause of death had been released. Several important questions remain unanswered, including the circumstances of his death and whether his family or the university plans a public service in Madison or in Ohio. Even in a 2024 school feature unrelated to his death, Wisconsin referred to Pugh as someone who had retired due to health circumstances, a sign that the program still treated him as part of its recent history. For now, the next public step is likely to be any additional statement from the school or Pugh’s family, but no timetable had been announced by Wednesday afternoon.
The reaction around Wisconsin football moved quickly from official mourning to personal remembrance. Former teammate Braelon Allen, now with the New York Jets, posted a brief message after the news spread: “Protect your mental.” It was only three words, but it echoed the reason Pugh gave when he retired and helped explain why the announcement hit so hard with people who followed the program. His official stat line was short, but the language used by coaches, staff and former teammates after his death suggested that his place inside the team was not measured by catches or touchdowns. That impression also fits the way he was described when he first arrived on campus. In Wisconsin’s 2021 coverage of the tight ends group, Pugh was introduced as an early enrollee entering a unit built on shared work, shared meals and a sense of belonging. In death, that same theme returned in different words from the school and people who knew him: Pugh was remembered for presence, warmth and the relationships he left behind in Madison.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Wisconsin had released only its public statement and no further details about how Pugh died. The next clear milestone will come when the university or Pugh’s family says whether there will be a memorial or another public tribute.
Author note: Last updated April 1, 2026.