Seth Buresh Reflects on his Time at the College, the Bell, and Family
A member of the Buresh family has played in every Bell Game since 2010. Tyler Buresh ’11 was the first of five brothers to play in the Monon Bell Classic. More than a decade later, his youngest brother, Seth, is about to play in his last one this weekend. The Bachelor sat down with Seth to ask him about his feelings on his last Bell Game, the football season he missed, and this week’s preparations to beat the Dannies.
After hearing that last year’s Division III season was being canceled, many Wabash senior athletes took a semester or a year off so that they could come back and play again. Seth Buresh ’21 is among the group of students to do so. Buresh was glad the NCAA announced that before the season.
“Luckily, they told us before we came back to school because I didn’t even come back that fall semester.”
Buresh felt insulted when he saw teams in Division I football-playing when everyone else wasn’t allowed to. “But it was kind of disappointing, and it was really, really annoying to see like Division One schools play. And you just say like, oh, the little guys, just like the peons. They don’t matter. We don’t bring any money. So we shouldn’t get the opportunity to play.”
Despite the disappointment with not being able to play, Buresh is able to see the bright side of the situation. “I’ve just been super blessed to be a part of this team and to get to know the coaches and the guys and I’m just super thankful that I had the opportunity to come back and to do it for one last season.”
The Bell Game wasn’t the only thing that brought Buresh back to Wabash this year, but he’s glad to have another chance. “The Bell isn’t where it belongs right now,” but, “it’d be a nice cherry on top.”
On Dannies and the rivalry, Buresh recounted the 2017 Bell Game. “They came over and took it from our sideline and took it back. And they rang it for a little bit and then they just stopped. They just they stopped they allowed it to stop ringing for an extended period of time and it just kind of hit me because growing up, I know that it never stops raining should never stop,” “And I think that that one act showed me that they don’t even care. Like it’s cool they got they got the bell but they’re not gonna treat it well or treat it with the respect that was she deserves.”
On this being his last Bell Game, Seth said that this felt like, “just another game.” He said it hasn’t hit him yet that it’s his last game. On the Bell, Seth said, “The bell encapsulates almost all the tradition at Wabash.” “It’s about the Brotherhood, all the men that have come before us playing for that bell and all the tradition and the blood sweat and tears that have gone into to keeping and getting that bell back to where it belongs, in Crawfordsville.” Buresh has been the bright spot on a defense that has not met the expectations it set for itself. With a career-best 43 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 8 sacks, Buresh has been the best all-around player on a Wabash defense that has struggled.
Buresh has more-than-doubled his career tackle total and is in a position to beat his sack and tackle-for-loss totals for previous years. The Buresh family has attended every Monon Bell Classic for more than a decade.
From Tyler in 2010 to Cody in 2012, Ethan in 2013, Dylan in 2017, and Seth in 2019, the Bur esh Family has a long histor y with the Bell Game. F or the foreseeable future, this is their last Bell Game with a Buresh on the field. Seth will lead the defense against the