Ed Rush returned to the Huskies’ coaching staff in 2016 and will begin his 13th season on the sidelines in 2018. He will, again, coach the specialists.
In 2017, Rush coached first team All-PSAC East selection Ryan Abbott. The redshirt junior was twice named the PSAC Special Teams Player of the Week during the 2017 campaign and he led the Eastern Division in field goal percentage (83.3%). Abbott nailed 10-of-12 field goals and made good on 30-of-31 extra point tries during the regular season. He tied for the team lead in scoring with 60 points and finished sixth in the league - third among PSAC East kickers - in points.
Rush previously worked 38 seasons for the National Basketball Association. He served as an official from 1966 to 1998, officiating more than 2,000 games including All-Star games. In 1998, he joined the NBA Basketball Operations department as the NBA/WNBA Director of Officiating.
In his first stint with the Huskies, Rush’s tutelage helped Dan Fisher set the single-season school record with 20 field goals, including a school-record five in one game, during the 2010 campaign. Fisher set the all-time PSAC career record for field goals made with 57, also ranking among the all-time leaders in Division II. Fisher also finished his career as the PSAC’s all-time leader in kicking points and point-after attempts.
Rush also coached All-American running back, Jamar Brittingham, the school’s record-holder for rushing yards in a season. He held the Bloomsburg and the PSAC career record for rushing yards until Franklyn Quiteh shattered the record books after his graduation in 2013.
Prior to his work with the NBA, Rush worked as a teacher and football coach for Marple-Newton High School in suburban Philadelphia. He is a graduate of West Chester University where he played varsity football. He is also a nationally-recognized motivational speaker specializing in leadership.
Rush was recently named one of the 50 most influential people in sports officiating and, in the summer of 2008, was awarded the Medallion Award by the National Association of Sports Officials for having given back the most to sports officiating.
He received an Honorary Alumnus Award from Bloomsburg University in 2014. He is also the founder and coordinator of Court Club Success System for Basketball Officials - an online training court for basketball officials worldwide.
A native of Philadelphia, Rush and his wife, Trudy, are the parents of four children and have seven grandchildren.
