While the City College of San Francisco men's basketball team was on the verge of capturing a state championship, just miles away in the Central Valley another top athletic program from the college took center stage.
Legendary former CCSF football head coach George Rush was inducted into the California Community College Football Coaches Association (CCCFCA) Hall of Fame at its 33rd annual Hall of Fame Luncheon in Visalia on Saturday.
Also, current head coach Jimmy Collins was honored as the 2021 CCCFCA State Coach of the Year after guiding the Rams to a perfect 14-0 record as well as state and national championships.
The pair are forever connected as Collins served as Rush's quarterbacks coach for six seasons before taking over the program after his retirement following the 2014 season. Collins also played quarterback for Rush in 2005, helping lead the Rams to a Northern California championship.
Below is from the CCCFCA Hall of Fame Banquet program:
Coach Rush is a graduate of St. Ignatius High School, in San Francisco, where he played quarterback. In 1966, he attended City College of San Francisco, played defensive back, and later transferred to San Fernando Valley State College (now Cal State Northridge) where he played football and rugby.
He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Wake Forest University in 1972. From '71-'72, he coached the secondary at College of the Canyons. In 1973, he became the defensive coordinator at City College of San Francisco. In 1977, he was named the head coach at CCSF where he would remain in that position until 2015. Coach Rush also served as the Director of Athletics at City College from 1989 to 2009. In all, George would spend 37 years at his community college alma mater.
While the head coach at City College of San Francisco, the Rams won 326 games against 92 losses and 4 ties while nearly averaging 10 wins per season. In fact, from 1990 to 2014, the Rams had the highest winning percentage in the nation, winning 258 games and losing only 32 (.889 winning percentage). His teams won 7 national championships, 7 state championships, 14 Northern California championships, 22 conference titles, and was named Coach of Year 19 times. At one point, the Rams won 44 consecutive games in a row including post season, 65 consecutive regular season games in a row, and appeared in 25 consecutive post season bowl games – all national records. Additionally, over 95 percent of his sophomore student-athletes transferred to four-year schools to continue their athletic and academic careers.
Coach Rush served14 years as a conference representative for both the Golden Gate and the Coast Conference, and fulfilled the position as a conference representative on the NCFC's Competition Committee. His staff and student-athletes volunteered for community-based projects which included Catholic Charities, Habitat for Humanity, San Francisco Unified School District, and Red Cross Blood Bank, to name a few. George was also appointed project manager for the construction of the on-campus Veteran's Center and raising funds to complete the project with zero financing from the District. Currently, he works for the San Francisco Police Department, assisting them with minority recruitment.
George and his wife of 52 years, Jane, have 3 children, Tammy, George Jr, and Gibril, and have five grandchildren.