'He was a truly selfless man.' Sycamore honors coach, teacher Bud Acus after his death

George “Bud” Acus is not part of Miami University’s famous Cradle of Coaches , but his football playing career there propelled him into a coaching tree of his own. Acus became a football patriarch during his lifetime of coaching and teaching, including a long football career at Sycamore High School .

His legacy will live forever after his death Aug. 14 at age 95. The high school football field has been named after him for years, dating back to its former home at the middle school campus. His community and former players paid tribute to him Friday night during the current team’s home opener, a 52-0 Sycamore loss to Greater Miami Conference rival Princeton.

About 20 of his former players came to Bud Acus Alumni Field to be named and recognized in a ceremony before the game. Their graduation years ranged from 1959 to 1970. Many of his family members were also recognized.

Larry McVicker, a member of the Class of 1959, made the lead donation of $100,000 and asked that the field be named after his football coach Acus. He was one of the former players in attendance.

Acus played for Woody Hayes at Miami from 1949-50. Hayes left Miami in 1950 and went on to legendary status at Ohio State. Acus had a long friendship with Hayes.

Acus served with distinction in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. After coming home, he embarked on a lifelong mission of teaching and coaching with the Sycamore School District. After earning a master's degree in administration at Xavier, he served as a principal at Blue Ash Elementary and Sycamore Junior High.

Along the way, he was Sycamore's head football coach from 1953-67, winning the Eastern Hills League championship in 1964. He had an overall record of 93-38-10.

“When you were playing for him, he was a tough coach, but his heart was as big as the world,” said Steve Imhoff, a 1970 Sycamore graduate who taught in the Sycamore school district for 31 years and now works with the alumni association. "He genuinely cared about everyone. He was a truly selfless man who always put others first.”

Acus’s grandson, Tyler Downey, is a teacher at Goshen Middle School and the head varsity baseball coach at Goshen High School.

“I’m a teacher and a coach like he was,” Downey said. “What I wanted to be when I grew up was an athlete, like him.”

Downey said his grandfather would attend his games as often as he could until the very end.

Downey was looking forward to seeing several of Acus’s former players.

“His compassion for others, getting the most of them,” Downey said. “His former players always said how hard he was on them but they knew he loved them. My grandpa was as soft as a teddy bear.

“As a principal, he said good morning and goodbye to every student. He was a true person who believed in service to others, especially the youth.”

Dan Henke, also a former longtime coach, teacher and administrator in the district, said Acus’s early days with Woody Hayes inspired him to be the coach that he was.

Acus helped Hayes decide to leave Miami for Ohio State after he had a big game in a win over the UC Bearcats on Thanksgiving Day in one of Hayes’ final games in Oxford.

Henke said one time while he was at Miami, Acus got homesick and hitchhiked to Lockland. Hayes eventually found him there and drove him back to Oxford.

Acus graduated from Lockland High School, where he played with his brother, Jack. Jack played for John Pont and Bo Schembechler, who also are part of Miami’s Cradle of Coaches. Later, Jack Acus became head coach at Harrison High School before helping his brother on the Sycamore staff.

“Both of them were just about fundamentals,” Imhoff said. “They believed in fundamentals and working hard, leaving everything you had on the field. His teams did that all of the time. They left everything they had on the field. Back then the game wasn’t wide open with Xs and Os. You wanted a balanced team, offense and defense. You won by blocking and tackling better than the other team.”

Henke said Acus built relationships at the school, inviting the coaches over for weekly card games, building relationships that lasted until the end.

Henke said before the ceremony Imhoff and the administration did a great job contacting former players and he is looking forward to seeing them.

“Back then it was a smaller school and you got to know people really well,” Henke said. “It will be nice to have the former players here.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'He was a truly selfless man.' Sycamore honors coach, teacher Bud Acus after his death