Everyone had questions about SLU. Josh Schertz found refuge on the job and in restaurants. (2024)

The back door at the home of the Schertz burger was a welcome sight for the namesake of the popular menu item at J. Ford’s Black Angus at a time when he craved private moments.

Josh and Natalia Schertz were under scrutiny in Terre Haute, Indiana, and this was the only way they felt comfortable going out for a meal after reports began circulating of the many schools interested in making him their basketball coach.

Coming in through a rear entrance, the couple were given a private room or secluded booth in which to eat, away from the looks and questions and uneasiness that were growing by the day.

Was the Indiana State coach’s new contract with St. Louis University a done deal? Was he leaning toward Louisville? Might he go home to Florida Atlantic?

“Restaurants were helpful if we wanted to get out,” Schertz said. “I couldn’t be out in public because people were interested and wanted to convey things. They were not malicious. But we’d go for walks and people would come out of their house and say, ‘You’ve got to stay.’ Everywhere in Terre Haute, people wanted to stop and talk about it.”

Schertz used J. Ford’s and Umi Grill, his go-to for sushi, as private escapes when the rumors were rampant. His personal burger with onion straws, Swiss cheese and candied jalapenos, always was just a phone call away.

“I texted him and said, ‘You still need to eat,’” said Kelly Ford, who owns the restaurant with her husband. “So we tucked him away a time or two. I’m happy for him, but not everybody gets it.”

Schertz immersed himself in Indiana State’s run in the National Invitation Tournament, in which his team rolled all the way to the title game before losing, but found even his safe spaces at work weren’t free of distractions.

Finally, Schertz emerged from the onslaught that lasted March 10 through April 5 to reveal that he would become SLU’s coach. It was a process that involved at least three other offers that he rejected as he and Natalia became more comfortable with the idea of St. Louis.

Decision time

That comfort developed, he said, because Indiana State continued to win, allowing for more conversations with SLU officials and the realization that it was the best fit. By the time the Sycamores left for Indianapolis for the NIT Final Four, he was going to pick SLU or stay at Indiana State.

That was two weeks after the Sycamores trailed by 15 points in the second half of their NIT opener against Southern Methodist, looking as if they would be eliminated.

“I don’t know if we’d lost if I would have had a good enough feel for SLU to have done it,” Schertz said. “It would have been hard to walk away from Indiana State at that point. I’m not saying 100% I wouldn’t have, but that was a point when there were more options. Some of it was timing. Some was not being the right opportunity. But once I got on the bus, I only had two options.”

Schertz rose to national prominence throughout the 2023-24 season. His life story was told by CJ Moore in The Athletic in late January, creating more interest in his coaching and his path to the profession.

By the time the Missouri Valley Conference tournament was played in St. Louis, he knew there would be offers. He told his agent he didn’t want to talk to anyone until the Sycamores were done playing in the MVC, which ended with a loss to Drake and distress over the team’s status for the NCAA Tournament.

The next week, Schertz heard from search firms and athletics directors. SLU AD Chris May was among those who traveled to Terre Haute for a face-to-face meeting. Others talked to Schertz via Zoom calls.

“I was trying to navigate those waters while preparing my team and dealing with 18- to 22-year-olds who were hearing those things,” Schertz said. “Am I invested in them? Then you have my staff. If I go to Louisville, are they going? Or Florida Atlantic. You have a lot of people’s lives involved.”

Much interest

The inquiries seeped into times when it was not so convenient. In the hour before Indiana State’s second-round NIT game against Minnesota, Schertz received five texts about different jobs while he was in the locker room.

Schertz said he talked to May multiple times a day once the process was moving. He said there always was a point to the call and that talks were usually brief, so it never became a nuisance.

He did tell plenty of people he couldn’t talk because he was in a meeting or at practice or having a meal. Otherwise, his days would have been filled with conversations about jobs. He was intent on winning more games.

“There’s a fine line you walk going through those conversations,” May said. “The original talks are about big-picture goals and objectives. You keep peeling the onion back, getting more specific while at the same time trying to be appropriate in giving him the space to coach his team. On game days, we gave him ample space.”

Indiana State arguably became a bigger story by not being picked for the NCAA Tournament. There was widespread criticism when the Sycamores were not an at-large selection. The story grew when Virginia looked dismal in a loss in the First Four, prompting basketball fans to rage more about Indiana State’s absence.

As they continued to play, TV ratings increased. Games against Cincinnati, Utah and Seton Hall were the three highest rated in the tournament. The championship game averaged 1.4 million viewers on ESPN, making it the most-watched NIT title game since 2010.

“When we didn’t get in, it made Indiana State a big story,” Schertz said. “Then Virginia losing like it did made us a bigger story. What would have been bad is if we’d gone and laid an egg against SMU. We played like a team that didn’t want to be there and were able to flip the switch.”

After beating Minnesota, the Sycamores played again two days later. That was when the media reports reached a boiling point. Schertz’s coaching friend Dusty May had taken the Michigan job instead of Louisville. Schertz was said to be close to a deal to coach the Cardinals, and his alma mater at FAU came calling.

All the while, SLU’s Chris May continued to be in touch daily, and there were regular conversations with SLU donor Richard Chaifetz and president Fred Pestello, among others. SLU deputy director of athletics Janet Oberle was communicating with Natalia all the while.

When the Sycamores qualified for the NIT semifinals, there was a full week between games. The rumors about other jobs had been quelled, and Schertz’s decision became a waiting game.

He and Natalia had to process the variables. They had become immersed in Terre Haute and seen the basketball program galvanize the community. The Sycamores’ success not only helped fill the arena but had an economic impact on businesses.

Ultimately, weeks of conversations with SLU officials were convincing. Shertz informed his team of his departure the day after the NIT ended, and three days later, he was introduced at Chaifetz Arena.

“It was a really hard few weeks,” Schertz said. “I didn’t sleep much and didn’t eat much. I lost 9 pounds, which wasn’t a bad thing.”

Apparently he avoided the Schertz burger. Kelly Ford said it will be removed from the menu.