TEMPE, AZ — Former Cardinals player and Arizona State University star Pat Tillman left the NFL months after the September 11 attacks to join the U.S. Army.
He was killed on April 22, 2004, while deployed in Afghanistan.
"When he went from pro to military, it didn't shock the heck out of me," said Doug Tammaro, ASU's senior associate athletic director.
Tammaro worked with Tillman when he was at ASU.
"I kind of figured the way Pat probably saw it was: you can't join the military at age 50... you can go back to school at any time but you can't join the Rangers at that age so he needed to do it," he said. "It was a time our country needed it."
After Tillman's passing, friends and family created Pat's Run and the Tillman Foundation.
Since then, the foundation has invested over $34 million in scholarships and leadership development for nearly 900 Tillman Scholars, including 19 at ASU.
Meanwhile, Tillman's brother-in-law and friend, Alex Garwood, helped create the foundation and said Tillman's legacy is about doing what's right.
"It's not to be like him," Garwood said. "He thought for himself, and he did what he thought to be right."
Garwood said he misses spending time with "Uncle Pat" and doing the little things like running together or grabbing coffee.
"Things were just better with Pat around — period," he said.
At ASU, the school continues to honor Tillman's sacrifice through the Pat Tillman Veterans Center, helping thousands of military-related students a year.
There's also a statue with a quote from Tillman near one of the end zones.
The quote says: “Somewhere inside, we hear a voice. It leads us in the direction of the person we wish to become. But it is up to us whether or not to follow.”
"Before he was USA, he was ASU and it's something ASU is very proud of," said Tammaro.
Click here for more information or to donate to the Tillman Foundation.
ABC15 recently caught up with a runner who has taken part in every year of Pat's Run to learn what it means to him and those who lace up for the event.
"People are more in tune with what Americana is, and what Pat gave up," runner William McGowan said. "...It's more of a family event. It's more of a remembrance. It's a way to pay tribute to a legendary American who gave up his life."
Watch that story from ABC15's Collin Harmon in the video player below:
