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By Ray Hamill — It has been a difficult summer for College of the Redwoods athletics after the recent and sudden passing of longtime contributor Tino Romero.

The former CR football player, coach and Athletics Program Coordinator passed away unexpectedly in June, but his lasting impact on Corsairs sports will long be remembered.

The local community college announced this week that Romero will be inducted into the CR Athletics Hall of Fame in October, and a celebration of life is also being planned for the fall.

According to CR Athletics Director Bob Brown, Romero’s sudden passing was felt throughout the entire sports department.

“He touched everybody,” said Brown, who was also a close friend of Romero. “Within the department there was nobody Tino did not have an impact on, and we’ll never be able to replace that.”

Romero, a Eureka native, first joined the Corsairs after graduating from Eureka High School in 1988 and played for the local community college for two years before earning a scholarship to play at Washington State.

He had an immediate impact on the defensive line at CR and was a two-time, first-team all-Golden Valley Conference selection, as well as being named the conference Defensive Player of the Year in 1989.

He was also a two-time, first-team all-state selection.

His contributions to CR sports, however, went well beyond that.

He returned to CR in 1999 as linebackers coach and would become an invaluable member of the department for the following 25 years.

Romero was named head coach of the football team in 2011 and served in the position for two years.

In 2017, he was named the department’s Athletics Program Coordinator, where he would oversee all home sporting events and earned the respect and admiration of not just the CR coaches and student-athletes but also that of opposing coaches, who often would recognize his contributions.

“Our coaches and other coaches who came in to play here would often compliment us on how good our game management was run,” Brown added. “He took a ton of pride in making sure everything went smoothly.”

Romero, who was just 54 years old, also oversaw the CR athletic department’s weight room and supervised all of the student-athletes work study groups.

“I think he always had a tremendous impact on a countless number of students,” Brown added.

Romero will be inducted into the CR Athletics Hall of Fame at the Oct. 5 home football game against Chabot College at the Redwood Bowl.

It was also announced this week that the CR Foundation will create a scholarship in Romero’s name.

A date for the planned celebration of life has still to be finalized, but it will take place sometime around the hall of fame induction.