National Football Foundation

After playing three years as a defensive lineman for College Football Hall of Fame coach Biggie Munn at Michigan State, where he received All-America honors and helped the Spartans to a national championship in 1952, Frank Kush began a career in the U.S. Army. He rose to the rank of first lieutenant before taking an assistant coaching position at Arizona State under former Michigan State assistant and Hall of Fame coach Dan Devine. Kush was promoted to Devine’s post when he left to take the head coaching job at the University of Missouri.
 
A 1995 Hall of Fame inductee, Kush achieved a 176-54-1 record in 22 seasons at the helm of the Sun Devils, including nine conference titles, seven bowl game appearances and four Fiesta Bowl victories. He coached fellow Hall of Famers Danny White, Michael Haynes, John Jefferson, Ron Pritchard and Bob Breunig. Kush’s career is highlighted by the 1975 Arizona State squad, which finished with a perfect 12-0 record and a No. 2 ranking after a 17-14 victory over Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl. He was named the AFCA Coach of the Year and received the Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award for his efforts that year.
 
Kush had short coaching stints with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL, the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts and the Arizona Outlaws from 1981-85. He devoted his post-coaching days to supporting the community as a longtime president of the Valley of the Sun Chapter of the NFF and the executive administrator of the Arizona Boys Ranch.