Y. doctor dies after heart attack

PROVO — BYU's team doctor died after having a heart attack while traveling with the women's gymnastics team in Mexico, the school said.

Dr. Matthew Roush died Saturday from complications of a heart attack at the team hotel, BYU said in a release Monday. He was in Cancun, where the Cougars were competing in the Cancun Classic over the weekend.

Roush was 41. His wife, Tiffany, was in Cancun and was at his side when he died.

Roush had been a team physician at BYU for the past year, returning to his alma mater. He was also director of the Utah Valley Sports Medicine Clinic in Provo.

"This is a great loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and family at this time," BYU trainer George Curtis said.

Roush, an Ogden native, received his bachelor's degree in chemistry from BYU in 1987 and went to the University of Utah's Medical School.

Roush was also a team physician for Ball State University for 10 years before returning to Utah.

"Dr. Roush was a very dear personal friend," Curtis said. "I don't think we will begin to fully comprehend this tragic news for some time. He was a very dedicated physician, not only to the BYU athletics program, but also to the sports medicine program he directed for IHC."

Roush is survived by his wife and their six children. Funeral arrangements were planned for later in the week.

Kevin Morris, BYU's head football trainer, described Roush as "a real genuine person. He was a guy that really cared about the athletes and the people he worked with. The athletes really liked him. He had an athletic background, so he could talk to the athletes and understand what they were going through."

Morris said Roush's death "was a huge shock. I don't think it's hit home yet. He will be missed."

Morris remembered talking to Roush on the sidelines of BYU's season-opening football game against Notre Dame. "He told me it was a dream come true to come back to BYU," Morris said. "He always wanted to be on the sidelines of a BYU football game, on BYU's medical staff."

In honor of Roush, the main flag on campus will be lowered to half-staff on Friday.