Do you remember when University of Nebraska officials called off classes to celebrate a big victory in men’s basketball?
Karen Hoiberg does.
Karen, better known now as the mother of Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg, was at the time of that 1958 Kansas upset more identified as a daughter of Husker coach Jerry Bush — the honoree at NU’s annual Legends Weekend around Sunday’s game against Iowa.
Bush never had a winning record in nine seasons at Nebraska. Yet the 6-foot-4 “Big Bear of the Coliseum’’ is in the school’s hall of fame and remembered well for his story-telling, gregarious nature and impact on the community.
“I don’t think many had a bigger personality,’’ Karen said by phone from Ames, Iowa.
This is the 60th anniversary of Bush’s hiring. The former St. John’s All-American and pro player would have been 100 years old this year. He stayed in Lincoln after resigning from coaching in 1963, and died of a heart attack in 1976 at age 62.