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HARTINGTON — With humor, energy and a hard– earned message about overcoming adversity, former Nebraska assistant coach Bill Busch lit up the Cedar Catholic Booster Club Kickoff on Thursday at the Monsignor Werner Activities Center.
Busch, a Pender native and former Nebraska Wesleyan wide receiver, traced a career that began with persistence — and a little stealth. “I would kind of blend in with the players and coaches as they walked into the stadium,” he said of arriving at Memorial Stadium as a young hopeful. “Finally they noticed me and gave me a job as a graduate assistant.”
He started as a graduate assistant at Nebraska Wesleyan in 1989, then joined Nebraska’s staff from 1990-93 — the first of three stints with the Huskers, including work under Tom Osborne. Over the next three decades, Busch coached alongside six Hall of Fame coaches with stops at Wisconsin, Northern Arizona, New Mexico State, Utah, Utah State, Ohio State, Rutgers and LSU. He returned to Nebraska in 2021 as a defensive analyst and finished in 2022 as special teams coach and, later that season, interim defensive coordinator. He was on Ed Orgeron’s LSU staff when the Tigers won the 2020 national title.
“Some of our business people from around town knew him and had heard him speak. We tried to get him here a couple of times and thankfully it worked out this time,” Cedar Catholic principal and head football coach Chad Cattau said. “I had never met him until before he spoke — we sat with our other coaches for about an hour. He is a great guy.”
Cattau said Busch targeted his message to parents, coaches and athletes, focusing on meeting challenges head-on and staying with the process until you win. “I thought he gave a great message,” Cattau said.
True to his reputation, Busch rarely stood still, pacing in front of a captivated crowd and leaving the lectern behind. “It was a high-energy speech that really hit home,” Cattau said.
