Before news broke last week that he was the focus of an improper benefits probe at BYU, Duane Busby was relatively unknown outside the school’s football program.
Some hardcore BYU football fans probably knew Busby had been employed by the school since 1996 and became the director of football operations in 2001. But to most he was even more anonymous than the receivers or running backs coach.
Busby “retired” on March 24, according to a school news release.
Inside the program, the balding, middle-aged, unassuming man with a soft voice and almost puppy-like demeanor was highly regarded, so much so that when coach Bronco Mendenhall was asked about Busby’s abrupt resignation two days after it was announced, he became emotional in discussing the departure.
“You don’t replace him,” Mendenhall said at the time. “He is a personal friend, trusted adviser [and] essential to our success over the last nine years. … Duane is understated, so he asked me specifically not to make a big deal about it. So that’s as big [of] a deal as I can make it. But I will miss him.”
After the news broke last week via sports radio station 1280 AM that Busby allegedly provided heavily discounted or rent-free housing to selected players in addition to free meals and other gifts or benefits deemed impermissible by the NCAA, most former BYU players and coaches who spoke to The Salt Lake Tribune rushed to his defense.
“In my mind, Duane Busby is BYU football,” said former tight end Richard Wilson. “He kept that program running the whole time he was there, doing all the things he was doing behind the scenes.”
Wilson, who was not a star, said Busby tried to treat all players equally, contradicting reports that Busby favored high-profile, offensive players. However, Wilson acknowledged that Busby went out of his way to help non-LDS players get adjusted to the school, its strict honor code, and the unique culture of Provo.
“Duane cared about everybody, tried to take care of everybody,” Wilson said. “He helped anybody who needed help.”
In a piece he wrote for the BYU fan website lawlessrepublic.com, former BYU linebacker Derik Stevenson detailed how he called Busby, and not then-head coach LaVell Edwards, when he landed in jailed in 1997. Stevenson wrote that the only thing Busby is guilty of is “having a big heart and doing all in his power to help the kids that he’s grown to love.”
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