Ducey declares July 5 as Frank Kush Day to honor late ASU coach
Jul 5, 2017, 10:33 AM | Updated: 11:08 am
Former ASU head football coach Frank Kush died last month at 88. (Arizona State University Photo)
(Arizona State University Photo)
PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey declared Wednesday that July 5 would also be known as Frank Kush Day to honor the late legendary Arizona State University football coach.
“I join my fellow Arizonans in remembering the life of Frank Kush and the historic impact he had on the state of Arizona,” Ducey said in a release.
Kush passed away late last month. He was 88.
Ducey’s proclamation came hours before a public viewing was to be held at the All Saints Newman Center, located near College Avenue and University Drive, near the ASU campus in Tempe. The viewing was scheduled to run from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Kush was the Sun Devils head coach from 1958 to 1979 and posted an overall record of 176-54-1. The field at Sun Devil Stadium was named in his honor and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995.
“Coach Kush was instrumental in transforming ASU into what we know it to be today,” Ducey said.
“Many of the important achievements that ASU has seen can be credited to Frank Kush’s passion for and devotion to improving Arizona. He brightened the lives of tens of thousands of students and carved his name into our state.”
Kush coached multiple future NFL players, including quarterback Danny White who went on to play for the Dallas Cowboys.
“Frank Kush was able to get out of me something that no one else could get,” White said. “He affected hundreds of athletes that he coached in that same way.”
Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson also played one year under Kush on a football scholarship before trading the gridiron for the diamond.
Kush was fired as head coach in 1979 after interfering with ASU’s investigation into former punter Kevin Rutledge’s claims of mental and physical harassment.
He was found not liable in the case in 1980.
