NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Former Carson-Newman two-sport All-American and associate head football coach Carl Torbush will be formally inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Saturday night at 7 p.m. with a television special airing statewide in major markets.
The special will be broadcast on the following stations:
- Nashville: NewsChannel5+
Comcast Xfinity channel 250
Charter Spectrum channel 182
Digital Channel 5.2
Available on the NewsChannel5 app on Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV
7 p.m. CT Saturday, Aug. 29
- Knoxville: MyVLT
7 p.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 29
- Jackson: EPlusTV6
7 p.m. CT Saturday, Aug. 29
- Johnson City: WJHL CBS 11
Noon ET Saturday, Aug. 29
- Chattanooga: WDEF News 12
Noon ET Sunday, Aug. 30
- Memphis: WLMT CW30
4 p.m. CT Sunday, Aug. 30
The event will also be streamed online on the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame website, @TheTSHF on Twitter and @TNSportsHallofFame on Facebook.
Established in 1966, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame honors figures from every sport including basketball, baseball, football, golf, soccer and track & field, along with coaches, teams, sports writers and others who made an impact. The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development oversees all operations along with the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors.
A Knoxville native, Torbush graduated from Carson-Newman in 1974 where he lettered in both football and baseball and earned first team NAIA All-American honors in both sports that year. He has been inducted into the Carson-Newman and Knoxville Sports Halls of Fames.
Torbush started his coaching career at Carter High School in Knoxville as an assistant football and head baseball coach before signing with the Kansas City Royals in 1975. After one season in the Royals organization, Torbush joined Grant Teaff's coaching staff at Baylor University as a graduate assistant. Torbush worked as an assistant coach at SE Louisiana following his stint at Baylor. While coaching linebackers at SE Louisiana, he also was head coach of the baseball program and helped the Lions to a Gulf South title in 1978 at the age of 27.
From SE Louisiana, he moved to Louisiana Tech and Ole Miss before earning his first head coaching job at Louisiana Tech in 1987.
After one season, Torbush joined North Carolina in 1988 as defensive coordinator. Torbush was named the National Defensive Coordinator of the Year in 1996 as the Tar Heels were the Atlantic Coast Conference's best defense in 1995, '96, and '97. Torbush was named the Tar Heels head coach in 1997 and led UNC to a Gator Bowl victory over Virginia Tech in 1998.
Torbush was a 1997 finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's top assistant coach. During his time at UNC, at least one of his linebackers went pro every year. Among his more notable players were Julius Peppers, Brian Simmons, Greg Ellis, and Dré Bly.
He returned to his alma mater in 2006 to join Ken Sparks staff as associate head coach and linebackers coach. He helped tutor Eric Rice into the SAC's defensive player of the year and a two-time All-SAC honoree.
