Francis William Busch Jr.

We sadly and suddenly lost a truly great man and father when Frank Busch died on September 27, 2026. The massive outpouring of “This can’t be true” messages conveyed what we always knew: he was beloved by multitudes. Frank not only impacted thousands of young lives through his 50 years of coaching, but also through decades of good will, good humor and good counsel.

By the time Frank was in kindergarten, he knew that he liked sports more than he liked school. Although he was easily adept in almost any sport, his life took an early turn toward swimming and coaching. Before he even started college, he had his first head coaching job at Brookwood Swim Club in Edgewood, Ky. He went on to swim and play Division I water polo at Loyola University of Chicago, where he met our mother Patty, his wife of 54 years.

Their rock-solid faith supported them in parenting 5 children and in guiding countless others. Frank’s first college head coaching position was at the University of Cincinnati from 1980-1989. He was surprised and overjoyed when the University of Arizona named him Head Coach of Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving in 1989. He couldn’t believe his good fortune: coaching in an Olympic-sized pool under blue skies in the Pac-10 Conference. He switched shirts from Bearcat to Wildcat, but he never lost his allegiance to the Reds and the Bengals.

During his 22 years at Arizona, Frank’s athletes won 49 NCAA individual titles, 31 NCAA relay titles, and the Men’s and Women’s NCAA National Championships in 2008. Frank’s Arizona teams also produced 12 American Olympians, and 22 international Olympians. All four members of the gold-medal winning 4x100 Freestyle relay (representing South Africa) in Athens 2004 were Wildcats. Frank also had 6 NCAA Coach of the Year and 11 Pac-10 Coach of the Year Awards to his credit.

In 2011, Frank was honored with a chance to represent our country, when he was named the National Team Director for USA Swimming. Under his supervision, American swimmers won a total of 64 medals in London (2012) and Rio (2016), representing 30% of Team USA’s total medal count. In all, Frank coached in 5 Olympic Games (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016). His stellar career earned a spot in five separate Halls of Fame, most recently entering the State of Arizona Sports Hall of Fame in April 2026.

In retirement, Frank loved to fish with best friends Jim Click in Idaho and Nick Hansen in Wyoming. He was returning from back-to-back fishing trips with each friend when he collapsed from cardiac arrest in Sky Harbor airport on his way home to Tucson.

The soundtrack of Frank’s coaching life was “talks” with the team, calling out sets and times, and an on-deck whistle recognized by coaches and swimmers everywhere. The soundtrack of his personal life was upbeat conversations with anyone and everyone, and giving his 7 grandchildren nicknames: T-bone (Tori); V (Vienna); Chuckles (Charleigh); Meatball (Sasha); WeeNee (Alina); Buzz (Frank IV); and Pumpkin Pie (Baby Shirley).

Our extraordinary dad will be always remembered and forever loved. To honor his life and his deep faith, St. Pius X Catholic Church in Tucson will host a funeral Mass at noon on Saturday October 17, 2026.

Bear Down,

Frank III (Kate), Augie, Peter, Molly (Mike Lauf) and Sam (Lucia).