GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Former Tusculum University football coach Frankie DeBusk is the inaugural recipient of the Tom Bryant Memorial Pioneer Football Legend Award.

The award was presented to DeBusk at the annual TU Football Golf Scramble Friday at Graysburg Hills Golf Club.

The award is named in honor of Tom Bryant, former Tusculum football coach and TU Sports Hall of Famer, who led the reinstatement of the sport in 1991 after a 41-year hiatus. He coached the Pioneers from 1991-1994.

New Tusculum head football coach Billy Taylor, who is entering his first season in Greeneville, coached with Bryant on the football staff at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Bryant, who served as Wofford's defensive coordinator, was a valued mentor and a dear friend of Coach Taylor's.

DeBusk, who was inducted to the TU Sports Hall of Fame last fall, coached the Pioneers for 18 seasons (2007-2015) as he guided the program from the NAIA ranks to NCAA Division II where his teams accounted for a school-record 96 wins resulting in two South Atlantic Conference championships and a berth to the NCAA Playoffs.

The Tom Bryant Award will be presented annually to an individual who has been a "legend" in the growth and success of the Tusculum University football program.