After helping shape the Men’s Club Ice Hockey at Indiana University on the bench and behind the scenes, assistant coach and senior Andrew Gus was named IU’s Student Leader of the Year at the Student Organization Awards Ceremony earlier this month.
The ceremony, hosted by the Student Involvement and Leadership Center on April 8, recognized student leaders and organizations across campus in the Indiana Memorial Union’s Frangipani Room.
Gus was selected from a pool of 26 nominees for IU’s Student Leader of the Year, according to Jaden Cords, a graduate assistant for student organizations at SILC.
Cords said the selection was based on a nine-point rubric that evaluated how student leaders advance their organization’s mission, build community and demonstrate leadership potential.
“Andrew has just shown the monumental impact that student leaders can have on campus,” Cords said. “It’s showing up to be there for an organization and its members and taking on that responsibility.”
Gus said his interest in hockey began long before IU. Growing up in Strongsville, Ohio, he played competitively through high school, but a torn AC joint in his shoulder senior year forced him to reconsider his path and find a new role within the sport.
As a freshman, he worked with the IU Hockey Broadcast Network to cover games as a sideline reporter for IU club hockey. Gus said he handled intros, outros and sideline reporting and occasionally provided commentary in the broadcast booth.
Gus said his transition into coaching came unexpectedly toward the end of his sophomore year.
In February 2024, an assistant coach left for another job and a spot opened up on the coaching staff. Then-head hockey coach Andrew Weiss then approached Gus, who had already built relationships with the team through his broadcasting role, about stepping into the position as a temporary student coach for the remainder of that season.
“He knew I had experience,” Gus said. “He sent me a text asking if I had my skates, and I had no idea what it would lead to.”
Gus shifted from covering games to a role behind the bench, where he assisted with practices through drills, supported in-game decisions and helped players adjust their strategy.
Just days after joining the staff, Gus made his debut sitting on the bench as a student coach in a 14–5 win against the University of Pennsylvania.
In that season, IU club hockey won all but one game in the tournament, capturing the American Collegiate Hockey Association national championship with a 5–4 victory against Miami University.
After the championship run, Weiss and Associate Head Coach Ryan Bergman both left the program. Gus said the team needed additional full-time coaching support to keep things running and moved to a full-time assistant coach role.
As an assistant coach, Gus’ role expanded to leading pregame discussions and breaking down tape of opponents' gameplay to help players understand tendencies and strategy. Gus said he found fulfillment in taking on a larger leadership role and directly impacting players’ development.
“It was a completely different feeling being on the bench,” Gus said. “You’re actually part of it and helping the team in real time.”
That impact was visible to players across the team. Sophomore left-wing Matthew Schmidt said Gus’ presence shaped the team’s energy and culture.
“He was the energy guy,” Schmidt said. “He would come in the locker room and get us pumped up for every single game.”
Gus also started serving as IU club hockey secretary beginning in his junior year. In this role, he managed travel, organized bus trips and handled team logistics and paperwork, while also continuing his role as assistant coach.
Outside of IU club hockey, Gus also is vice president of the Club Sports Federation, where he helps ensure teams follow university policies, complete required travel and safety paperwork and stay in good standing with campus recreation.
Gus said he first learned of his nomination when teammates and friends told him they had submitted his name. After hearing his name announced at the ceremony, he said he immediately hugged his girlfriend before walking onto the stage.
“I think I was just like, ‘yes,’” Gus said. “It was almost like a celebration. All the hard work I did, even when no one was looking, people recognized that. It was just a special moment.”
After graduation, Gus will work with the Pittsburgh Penguins. There, he will help manage sponsorships and game-day partnerships. He said he hopes to still stay involved in hockey through coaching in some capacity.
Looking back on his time with IU club hockey, he said the roles he held were never about recognition, but about contributing to something larger than himself.
“I’ll miss all of it,” Gus said. “Just being part of that group, wearing Indiana across your chest and doing it with people you care about, that’s something special.”
