College Football

ETSU'sTorbush retires after long career

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:57 p.m. ET

(STATS) - East Tennessee State football coach Carl Torbush announced his retirement on Friday, 4½ years after being hired to restart the Buccaneers program and a coaching career that spanned over 40 years.

Torbush, 66, was hired in June 2013 to guide a Bucs program that had been dormant since 2003. They returned with an FCS independent schedule in 2015, joined the Southern Conference schedule a year later and went 11-22 in Torbush's three seasons, including 4-7 this year.

"I came to ETSU because of my love for football, East Tennessee, ETSU, the people and the passion for restarting a program that hurt all of us when it was dropped," Torbush said. "My love, appreciation and respect for everything that makes this university special will last a lifetime. I do feel all of us, myself, my staff, our athletic department, our faculty and staff, lettermen, fans, and everyone who has a love for ETSU, ETSU athletics, and especially ETSU football have been very instrumental in building a solid foundation for our program."

Torbush also had head coaching stints at North Carolina and Louisiana Tech, finishing with a 31-48 career record. He was known as an excellent defensive strategist, serving as the defensive coordinator at six FBS programs: Alabama, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Kansas, Texas A&M and North Carolina.

"ETSU athletics will be forever grateful for Coach Torbush's passion and effort in rebuilding the Buccaneer football program," athletic director Scott Carter said.