The late Frank Busch, six-time NCAA Swimming Coach of the Year, was so successful at the UA (1989-2011) that 37 of his swimmers have been inducted into the UA Sports Hall of Fame. And that doesn't include 33 NCAA championship relay teams.
How good is that?
In the same period, 1989-2011, Arizona's men's basketball team had 13 players inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. The UA football team had 14 players inducted into the HOF, and the Wildcat baseball teams of the Busch era had eight Hall of Famers. Only Mike Candrea's softball teams, with 24 Hall of Famers and eight NCAA championship teams, came close to Busch's production in the HOF.
In fact, Busch's UA swimming teams were so dominant that the UA's Class of 2017 in the Hall of Fame was an unheard-of swimmers-only class that included four individual swimmers and nine NCAA championship relay teams.
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Frank Busch, a friend of Dick Tomey and former UofA and Olympic swim coach accepts the Dick Tomey Arizona Strong award during the Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre Gin and Juice Arizona Bowl Luncheon at Tucson Convention Center, 260 South Church Avenue, Tucson, Ariz., Oct. 30, 2025.
A funeral service for Busch, 75, who died of a heart attack at Sky Harbor Airport on Sept. 27, will be held Saturday, Oct. 17 at St. Pius X Catholic Church at noon. A reception in his honor will be held following the funeral at the Tucson Country Club.
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