HAMMOND, Ind. & WESTVILLE, Ind. – Purdue University Northwest and its Athletics Department mourns the death of men’s basketball head coach Matt Bush, who passed away on Sunday, April 8, at the age of 62. Details on a memorial service or funeral have yet to be released.
“It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Coach Matt Bush,” said PNW Director of Athletics Rick Costello. “Matt was a wonderful friend and colleague to so many within our university and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family during this difficult time. Our men’s basketball program has lost its outstanding head coach and we will do whatever we can to help our student-athletes, coaches and staff as they mourn the passing of Coach Bush.”
Bush had finished his second season at Purdue Northwest in February. In his first season, he led PNW to a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Tournament berth. Prior to becoming the Pride’s head coach, Bush had served three seasons as the head coach at Purdue North Central in Westville. He held the record for most all-time wins at PNC (39) and tied the record for most wins in a season (15). His 2015-16 Purdue North Central squad earned the program’s first postseason berth to the CCAC Tournament.
Bush had nearly 30 years of basketball coaching experience with 24 of those years at the helm of the Morgan Township (Ind.) High School boys’ basketball team. Bush led the Cherokees to 18 championships, including six sectional titles, the school’s lone regional crown in 1998-99 and three elite eight appearances in the IHSAA Class A State Tournament. In all, Bush recorded more than 300 prep victories.
A graduate of Southwestern Oklahoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in physical education, Bush played collegiate basketball and later served as a graduate assistant for the Bulldogs earning a bachelor’s degree in physical education. A longtime resident of Northwest Indiana, Bush was a graduate of New Prairie High School in New Carlisle, Ind.
Bush is survived by his wife, Janet, as well as his son, Matty, an assistant basketball coach for Purdue Northwest, and daughter, Angie.