William Jewell College, a Division II school in Liberty, Missouri, is mourning the death of running back MicahJo Barnett after he suffered a medical emergency on the sideline during the team's season-opening game against Fort Lewis College. The match at Greene Stadium was suspended following the incident, and a vigil was held on the college quad that evening in his memory. His death has shaken the small liberal arts college community, which praised the rapid response of emergency services in the aftermath.

Barnett, a junior business major from Shawnee, Kansas, had scored a touchdown earlier in the same game not long before he was taken ill. Interim college president Dr Drew Van Horn thanked the sheriff's office, police, EMS and the team physician for their swift efforts to save him. Barnett had led Liberty North High School to a state title in his senior year before joining William Jewell, playing eight games as a freshman but only five in 2025 after a season-ending injury. He is survived by six siblings.