Athletic Director/Head Golf Coach

Joe Bush

Joe Bush is in his ninth season as the head golf coach at Hampden-Sydney and his 23rd year of affiliation with the College. Bush coached the Hampden-Sydney football team from 1986 through 1996 and since 1992 has served as the Director of Athletics at the College. 

In five-plus years as the Tigers golf coach, Bush has helped guide H-SC to four top-three finishes in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship. Bush’s golf squads completed back-to-back third-place finishes in the ODAC in 2001 and 2002, earned a second place finish in 2003 and wound up eighth in 2004.

In 2002-2003, Bush and Hampden-Sydney’s golf team scored a second-place finish in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference to wrap up one of the most-successful golf seasons in recent memory. Senior Brent Gammon scored his third straight first team All-ODAC honor and won the individual honors at the ODAC Tournament with rounds of 70 and 76. In ten tournaments on the year, the Tiger golfers finished in the top three in eight events and won three tournaments, including the 2002 Virginia Intercollegiate College Division Championship, en route to posting a 309 team stroke average.

In 2003-2004, Bush’s squad scored an eighth-place finish in the ODAC Championships but did complete seven top-ten finishes on the year including a season best third-place finish at the always competitive Camp Lejune Collegiate. In 2004-2005, Bush led a group largely comprised of first-year players to a fifth-place finish in the ODAC Tournament. Meanwhile, the team also recorded eight top-ten finishes in nine events and won the Bridgewater Invitational at Lakeview Country Club in Harrisonburg, VA. In 2008, Bush's Tigers, led by All-ODAC performers Nick Combs and Bob Boykin, placed third in the ODAC Championships at Amherst.   

In eleven seasons as the Hampden-Sydney football coach, Bush recorded a winning percentage of nearly .600. He twice earned ODAC Coach of the Year honors, including 1987 when the Tigers won the ODAC Championship. In addition to the on-field accomplishments by his teams, Bush coached four players who earned Academic All-America recognition. He also served as H-SC’s tennis coach from 1989 to 1992 and in 1991 was named the ODAC Tennis Coach of the Year. 

Bush served a two-year term as President of the ODAC from 2000 through 2002.  In 1998 he served as the Chair of the NCAA Division III Football Committee. He was responsible for all aspects of the NCAA Division III National Football Championship. 

Before his arrival on the Hampden-Sydney campus, Bush served as head football coach at Bridgewater College for one year and as an assistant at Virginia Military Institute for 15 years. 

A three-year starter for VMI in both football and baseball, Bush is a member of VMI’s Sports Hall of Fame. As a senior, Bush was co-captain of the football team, second team All-Southern Conference and voted the “Outstanding College Lineman in Virginia” by the Roanoke Sports Club.           

Bush received his undergraduate degree in civil engineering from Virginia Military Institute and his masters degree from Longwood University. He served three years in the United States Army, attaining the rank of captain. His military assignments included serving as battery commander of a guided missile unit in Korea and service in Germany.           

Bush is a member of the American Football Coaches Association and the College Presbyterian Church. He and his wife, Katherine, are the parents of two children, Katrina and Joseph, and have two grandsons, Charlie and Sam and two granddaughters, Lauren and Caroline.