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Former Sun Bowl Association Executive Director “Cricket” Musch Honored to 2023 GCAA Hall of Fame Class November 2, 2023

NORMAN, Okla. – The Golf Coaches Association of America announced that former UTEP men’s golf head coach Marlin “Cricket” Musch was honored to the 2023 GCAA Hall of Fame Class. Musch, along with Steve Card, Josh Gregory and Grier Jones will be officially inducted at the GCAA Hall of Fame Reception & Awards Dinner on Monday, Dec. 4 in Las Vegas.

Musch started the UTEP varsity program, which had previously been a club sport, and was the
head coach from 1981 to 1990. In 1988, the Miners shared national runner-up honors with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State after the conclusion of the 1988 NCAA Division I National Championship, finishing only three shots behind champion UCLA and GCAA Hall of Fame coach Eddie Merrins. Musch received the NCAA Division I Dave Williams National Coach of the Year Award that year, and UTEP made it back to the national championship in 1989 before Musch earned Regional Coach of the Year honors. In all, Musch, a three-time Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Coach of the Year, led the Miners to the 1985 WAC Championship, six national championship appearances, and 10 All-American honors.

Known to many as “Cricket”, Musch then began his over 30-year career in golf agency as the Executive Director of the Sun Bowl and El Paso Sun Carnival Association, where he ran the Sun Bowl College All-America Golf Classic from 1990 to 1992. He spent over 10 years at PING as their Director of College and Amateur Player Development (1992-1998), including starting the PING/Golfweek Preview with GCAA Hall of Fame member and the late Ron Balicki, and Director of Tournament Player Relations (1998-2003), where he oversaw PING’s endorsement deals with more than 50 golfers worldwide.

From 2003 to 2007, Musch was the Director of Business Development and the Player Manager at Gaylord Sports Management in Scottsdale, Ariz., directing the collegiate athletics management division and managing all aspects of player representation. He has since spent over 15 years with Nike, first as their Golf Sports Marketing Director of College and Amateur Development (2007-2021) that included leading relations for the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational (now Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational) and most recently a Consultant for Nike Golf Sports Marketing. Musch played at NM State (1972-76), where he earned Honorable Mention All-American honors in 1975 and was inducted into the NM State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992.

ABOUT GCAA
In 1980, the GCAA began inducting outstanding men’s college golf coaches into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame. Since then, the hall has grown to include more than 160 members. To be selected to the Hall of Fame, a coach must be nominated by their peers and then selected by the GCAA Hall of Fame Committee. Selection criteria not only include a coach’s record on the golf course, but also their contributions to the game, student-athletes, and school. For more information, please visit: www.collegiategolf.com/awards/hall-of-fame.

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