After five seasons with the Rebels, Ward spent two years as an assistant to Dan Muller at Illinois State University.
[1] While returning from the 2015 NCAA championship game in Indianapolis, Ward was one of seven people killed in a plane crash just outside Illinois State's main campus.
[2] Ward attended University of Alabama at Birmingham, his hometown school, and played for three seasons (1997–2000) under head coach Murry Bartow.
He then spent the next two seasons as an assistant coach for the Gamecocks before getting hired by Andy Kennedy at the University of Mississippi.
The plane was flying from Indianapolis, Indiana, where Ward had attended the 2015 National Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium.