Dear Campus Community,
Yesterday, our university community lost a beloved member who left an indelible mark on our campus, region, and hearts. Coach Carl Torbush will forever be remembered at East Tennessee State University as a man of vision and character. In 2013, when we decided to resurrect the university's football program following a decade-long cessation, it was clear the role demanded an individual of exceptional caliber — a leader capable of nurturing our student-athletes and developing a strong team while also building a solid foundation upon which the program's entire future would be built. As our Athletic Director, Dr. Richard Sander, notes, "We had bigger aims than just building a team that could win championships. We wanted to build a program to win championships while shaping our student-athletes into role models and positioning them for lifelong success. We wanted to build strong relationships with the community. We wanted to build a culture of excellence and connection."
In Coach Torbush, we found not only a remarkable coach but also a man of unwavering integrity who embodied the spirit and goals of ETSU. Rising from humble beginnings, Coach Torbush firmly believed that work ethic and success are inextricably linked. During his long and celebrated career, he held coaching roles within some of the top football programs in the country, including Ole Miss, the University of Alabama, Texas A&M, and the University of North Carolina, where he worked his way up to become the Tar Heels' Head Coach. While he loved football, Coach Torbush's most profound devotion was to baseball, and he even played pro for a summer with the Kansas City Royals rookie league team. A robust and avid player well past retirement age, Coach Torbush was known to give the young guys a run for their money, scoring against players a third of his age into his 70s.
Coach Torbush lived with gratitude and humor, never taking anything he earned for granted. He recognized that the price of excellence must be paid daily and that what happens off the field is just as important as the work that occurs on the gridiron. In his first year at the helm of our revitalized football program, Coach Torbush attended more than 215 community events in addition to recruiting and coaching his team and helping to build a program from the ground up. The fruits of his labors were made evident when, just four years after the program restarted, the Buccaneers claimed the SoCon Championship and competed in the FCS playoffs.
Coach Torbush's work continues to yield dividends today. We see evidence of his impact on game days when thousands of supporters pack Greene Stadium. We have his legacy to thank, in part, when a stranger in the grocery store takes note of our ETSU gear and greets us with a proud "Go Bucs!" His spirit lives on in the thousands of alums, past and present staff members, and community members he inspired.
In fond memory of Coach Torbush,
Brian Noland
President
