Reports: Legendary former ASU coach Frank Kush dies at 88

Former Arizona State head coach Frank Kush passed away at Valley Hospital in Phoenix on Thursday morning, according to ABC 15.

Kush compiled a 176-54-1 record all-time with the Sun Devils serving as the head coach from 1958 to 1979.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995. A year later, Arizona State deemed its playing surface “Frank Kush Field” the day the Sun Devils defeated No. 1 Nebraska 19-0 on Sept. 21, 1996.

Kush coached the Sun Devils to two perfect seasons. In 1970, the Sun Devils finished 11-0 and beat North Carolina in the Peach Bowl. Five seasons later, Arizona State went 12-0 and beat Nebraska in the 1975 Fiesta Bowl.

In his 22 seasons coaching Arizona State, Kush won nine conference titles. He won two Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships in 1959 and 1961. In the Western Athletic Conference, Kush won the conference five straight years from 1969 to 1973 and then won it twice more in 1975 and 1977.

His Sun Devil coaching career ended when former Sun Devil punter Kevin Rutledge filed a $1.1 lawsuit against Arizona State. He accused Kush and his staff of mental and physical harassment.

Kush was fired by Arizona State on Oct. 13, 1979, but that didn’t stop him from coaching elsewhere.

The Sun Devil legend coached one season in the Canadian Football league with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1981. He then coached the Baltimore Colts from 1982-84 before coaching the Arizona Outlaws for one season in 1985.

Born in Windber, Penn., Kush attended Michigan State where played as a 5-foot-7, 150-pound defensive lineman. Kush earned All-American honors in 1952 and won national championships with the Spartans in 1951 and 1952.