Jack Huss

Frank Jackson Huss Sr. Jack) is something of a Rutherford County Renaissance Man. He has earned acclaim as a player, coach, administrator and official in multiple sports, as well as being involved in many philanthropic endeavors around the county.

Huss was a three-sport athlete while attending R-S Central High School, as the Spindale native earned seven letters while playing football, basketball, and baseball. As a result, Huss was selected as Outstanding Male Athlete his senior year of 1965.

Upon graduation, Huss attended Lenoir Rhyne University, where he lettered in both football and baseball. During his career on the college gridiron, Huss set single-season and career passing records for the Bears. He also held as many as 10 other school records during his college career. After completing an advanced degree at East Carolina, Huss returned to Lenoir-Rhyne in 1972 as an assistant coach and later the head coach, a position which he held for six seasons. In 1975, Huss led the Bears to a 7-3-1 record and a South Atlantic Conference Title. He was elected to the RU Hall-of-Fame in 1996 and has served as the Bears' Football Color Analyst since 2003. Huss also served as the offensive coordinator for East Tennessee State during his college coaching career.

Huss found success as a coach on the high school gridiron, as well. He was head coach at Richmond Sr. High School from 1980-83, leading the Spiders to a playoff appearance his first season. Huss also coached at Hunter Huss from 1985-86 and the Huskies qualified for the postseason, too. As a result, Huss was the Southwestern Conference 4A Coach of the Year.

Following the 1986 season, Huss returned to his alma mater as head coach of the Hilltoppers from 1987-95. He led R-S to their first-ever playoff appearance in 1987 and first-ever playoff win when they defeated Brevard on the road.

Huss wore many hats for the Hilltoppers while at R-S. In addition to being head football coach, he also served as golf coach for the girls' and boys' teams, along with overseeing all sports programs as Athletic Director during his tenure. Huss coached 23 All-Conference golfers during his 12 years on the links and led them to four Rutherford County Championships in five seasons. Huss was also a four-time conference Coach of the Year and had four golfers earn Player of the Year honors under his tutelage. The Hilltoppers found team success, too, earning three-60 Western Regional Championships and five playoff appearances. As an Athletic Director, Huss guided the Hilltoppers to a pair of prestigious Wachovia Cups and was named the Region 8 Athletic Director of the Year in 2001.

During his career, Huss found time to work as a basketball official at both the college and high school levels. Huss officiated for both the West Virginia Intercollegiate Conference and Conference Carolinas. Huss was a high school official for 40 years, calling many big games and receiving numerous honors. He officiated a NCHSAA Championship game five times and the East/West All-Star Game in 1998. Huss received the NCHSAA Distinguished Service Award, along with the Golden Whistle for outstanding officiating in 2012. Based on that body of work, Huss was inducted into the NCHSAA Hall of Fame in 2014.

Huss is an active member of Advent Lutheran Church in Spindale, serving in numerous roles over the years.