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Amy Tush was hired as the head coach of women's cross country at Northwestern in June 2001 and enters her sixth season with the Wildcats. Under her leadership, Northwestern enjoyed a historic campaign in 2002, her second season. The Wildcats advanced to the NCAA Championships for just the second time in history and the first since the cross country was restored to varsity status in 1998 following a 10-year tenure as a club program. That year, three NU runners earned All-District honors -- seniors Rachel Evjen and Laura Evans, as well as sophomore Diana Hossfeld -- and Evjen ran to All-Big Ten honors at the conference championship meet for the third year in a row. In addition, 13 women earned Academic All-Big Ten honors, and the team earned Academic All-America status for the cross country coaches' association. Tush's first season at the helm was nearly as eventful, as the Wildcats finished sixth at the Big Ten Championships and seventh at the NCAA's Midwest Regional, and Evjen became the first NU runner to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors. Hossfeld, meanwhile, entered the 2001 campaign as a relatively unheralded freshman, but finished her rookie year by earning second-team All-Big Ten honors and then All-District recognition. In 2003, the Wildcats had another Top-10 finish at the Midwest Regional meet and Hossfeld was again an All-District selection. With that, she also earned Academic All-America honors from the coaches association, and the team again received Academic recognition while a total of 13 women were Academic All-Big Ten honorees. In 2004, Northwestern's cross country team members combined to post the best grade-point average of the 19 varsity teams in the school's athletic department, with 10 earning Academic All-Big Ten. In addition to her duties with the 'Cats, Tush enters her third season as the Midwest Regional representative on the NCAA Coaches Committee. Tush, 32, came to Northwestern from Butler University in Indianapolis, where she was an assistant coach for the men's and women's cross country programs for four years. In 1998, she helped coach the Bulldog men's team to 16th place at the NCAA Championships, Butler's first appearance in the national meet. She also helped oversee six Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now Horizon League) team championships -- three men's, three women's -- and seven individual conference champions. Prior to her stint at Butler, Tush was a graduate assistant at Indiana State for two years. During that time she coached the sprinters and helped oversee two Missouri Valley Conference championship teams. A 1995 graduate of Indiana State, Tush was a Missouri Valley Conference champion in cross country and track, and was the MVC Athlete of the Year in cross country in 1993. She led the Sycamore cross country and track programs to eight MVC titles and a pair of third-place finishes at the NCAA District Cross Country Championships. Tush was also a two-time Academic All-MVC selection. Being in Indianapolis, Tush was heavily involved in helping stage the NCAA Indoor Championships -- she was on the administrative staff for the 2000 Division I NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, and the administrative staff and operations supervisor for the 1999 NCAA Division I and II Indoor Track & Field Championships. Tush also served as the meet host organizer for the 1998 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. Additionally, Tush was director of the Junior Indiana Invaders kids program and coordinated the Hoosier State Games in 2000, and in 1999 she coordinated the NCAA's YES (Youth Education through Sports) Clinic in Indianapolis. Tush (pronounced TUHSH) lives in Wilmette with her husband (Jimmy) and their daughters, four-year-old Jamey and newborn Cynthia.
AMY TUSH AT A GLANCE
Running Honors
As A Coach
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