Former Louisville field hockey star set to broadcast Olympics (2024)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) - Standing on the hot turf at Trager Stadium on the campus of the University of Louisville, Suzanne Bush feels right.

"When I step onto this turf, I feel like I'm at home," Bush said. "This is family. This is the place that started my love of sports."

Technically, that began early. Bush traced her playing days back to the softball diamond, when she was five. But field hockey eventually won her heart.

"I went to one of the few schools that offered it in middle school," Bush said. " I love the pace of field hockey. It is fast-paced the entire time. I'm a sprinter by nature."

She quickly rose as a local standout and wanted to play in college, still earning scholarships for both field hockey and softball. After taking a visit to her hometown school, Louisville was a logical fit for field hockey with a clear field upgrade.

"When I was in high school, it was grass," Bush said with a laugh. "And so, moving from a grass field to a beautiful, flat turf field, the pace of the game is so much different. Your stick skills have to be that much quicker, that much crisper."

That did not slow her down from growing into an all-conference Cardinal. Also known as Suzanne Irwin, she made her voice heard from 2001 to 2004, helping lay Louisville's foundation as a leader.

"I was all about competing," Bush said. "I was very intense. I like to think that as a leader on the field, I tried to lead by example."

There may not have been a clear one to follow for what to do after graduation. Bush had a similar experience to what many collegiate athletes still battle.

"All your life, starting when you're very little, you train for something," Bush said. "And then it's like, well, what now? And you have that moment of panic."

The answer she found was not exactly design.

"It was not my goal, by any means," Bush said. " I wanted to be an interior designer."

Instead, her path took her to a booth. A broadcast producer in Debbie Harbsmeier called and asked if she wanted to work with veteran Louisville play-by-play voice Sean Moth.

"Any chance that you get the opportunity to work alongside you guys, I would absolutely feel honored," Bush recalled saying.

She credits their patience for pushing her growth as a commentator before pausing to have two children. Meanwhile, the birth of more conference and network broadcasts brought another call for Bush to come back.

"I was all on board," Bush said. "I was like sign me up, I'm ready to get back into it."

Her work across the ACC Network and ESPN brought bigger assignments like the national championship and more opportunities. A friend of a two-time Olympian later asked her about another potential call.

"He said, 'Are you going to call the Olympics,' Bush remembered. "And I was rolling my eyes like no way. They don't want me. They don't even know who I am."

They knew. Her name had come up between ESPN and NBC as the latter was looking for talent to call Olympic field hockey for the Paris games.

"I didn't hear anything for a few weeks," Bush said. '"I was like, 'Oh, I didn't get it.' Like, I followed up a few times.

"And then, I got an email: 'Hey, we'd love to have you be part of the team.' I was like, 'Oh my gosh.'"

Bush will primarily focus on the "gritty" Americans and is prepared for her remote assignment in Stamford, Connecticut. As she watches from afar, a Louisville voice on the global stage of a sport wants you to know where it comes from.

"My love of the sport, my passion for the sport," Bush said. "Sharing these athletes' journeys, right? That's a huge piece of it.

"I mean, when they step on the turf, and it's very hard, they're very particular about this: Until they step on the turf, you cannot call them an Olympian."

Suzanne Bush can now say the same.

"That might bring tears to my eyes," Bush said. "There's no way I could have ever envisioned that I would get this opportunity. It is beyond my wildest dreams."

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