William Busch (born April 27, 1965) is an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

coach. He was the interim

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

and special teams coordinator for the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Universit ...

in 2022. He also coached for

Nebraska Wesleyan Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) is a private Methodist-affiliated university in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska Methodists. As of 2017, it has approximately 2,100 students including 1,500 full-time students and 300 ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, Northern Arizona, New Mexico State,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, Rutgers, and

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

. He played college football for Nebraska Wesleyan as a wide receiver.

Early life and education

Busch was born on April 27, 1965, in Pender, Nebraska. He played

for Nebraska Wesleyan University as a wide receiver. After graduating from Nebraska Wesleyan in 1988 he attended Kearney State College—now the University of Nebraska at Kearney—where he earned his

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1990.

Coaching career

In Busch's first six seasons of coaching he served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Nebraska Wesleyan University, for a year in 1989; the

for four years from 1990 to 1993; and for the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

in 1994. Following Busch's stint with Wisconsin, he joined

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...

as the team's

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

s coach in 1995. In the following year he was promoted to co-

while maintaining his post as defensive backs coach. In 1997, Busch was hired by New Mexico State University to serve as defensive backs coach under head football coach

Tony Samuel Marion Anthony Samuel (born November 14, 1955) is an American college football coach and former player. He served as head football coach at New Mexico State University (NMSU) from 1997 to 2004 and Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) from ...

. In 2001, after four seasons with the

New Mexico State Aggies The New Mexico State University teams are called the Aggies, a nickname derived from the university's agricultural beginnings. The mascot is known as " Pistol Pete". NMSU's colors are crimson and white. Since 2005 the Aggies have competed in the ...

, he joined the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

in the same position. In 2004, Busch started his second stint with

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

as the team's special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach before becoming the special teams coordinator and safeties coach in 2005. After not coaching in 2008, Busch was hired by Gary Andersen at

. He spent four seasons there, serving as defensive coordinator for the first two before reverting to safeties coach and special teams coordinator for the latter two. In 2013, Busch began his second stint with

as the team's special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach. In 2015, Busch was hired by

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

as a defensive quality control coach. In 2016, Busch was hired by

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

as the defensive backs coach. In 2017, he was promoted to co-defensive coordinator alongside being the defensive backs coach. In 2018, Busch was hired by

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

as the safeties coach. In 2019, under head football coach Ed Orgeron, he was a part of the

2019 College Football Playoff National Championship The 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship was a college football bowl game that determined a national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the 2018 season. It was played at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, ...

team. He was not retained following the 2020 season. In 2021, Busch began his third stint with Nebraska as a defensive analyst. In 2022, he was promoted to special teams coordinator. With eight weeks remaining in the 2022 season, he was promoted to interim defensive coordinator. He was not retained following the hiring of

Matt Rhule Matthew Kenneth Rhule (born January 31, 1975) is an American football coach and former player, who is the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He was previously the head coach at Temple University, Baylor University, and for the Carolina Pant ...

Personal life

In 2023, Busch became a co-host for 93.7 "The Ticket" (Early Break with Sip & Jake).

References

External links

Nebraska profile

LSU profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Busch, Bill 1965 births Living people People from Pender, Nebraska Players of American football from Nebraska Coaches of American football from Nebraska University of Nebraska at Kearney alumni Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves football players American football wide receivers Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football coaches Wisconsin Badgers football coaches Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football coaches New Mexico State Aggies football coaches Utah Utes football coaches Utah State Aggies football coaches Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches Rutgers Scarlet Knights football coaches LSU Tigers football coaches