Highlights

Campus News

Wildcat Weekly Minute for Nov. 17, 2011

A look at what's happening on campus this week.

Faith

Cleansed through the Cross

Dr. Quarles speaks on the efficacy of Christ's sacrifice at weekly chapel

Sports

LC hoops teams wrap up homestand with pair of wins

Off to Ozarks, UT-Dallas next

Organizations

LC media student give to Toys for Tots

More than 100 toys will help local charity

Campus Life

February is Heart Health Awareness Month

Stay healthy and 'God Red'

Culture

All the Shakespeare you could laugh at… and more!

tlc's adaptation of 'Shakespeare Abridged' pulls out all the stops

Special Coverage

LC brings another successful ‘Follow the Star’

'Christmas on the Hill' and 'Gala' add to festive weekend

LC’s “Coach Buck” honored by AFCA

by Will Tubbs

Buck Buchanan finalist for assistant coach of the year award

By Will Tubbs, LC Sports Information

The award for the American Football Coaches Association’s Division III assistant coach of the year might have gone to Redlands offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jeff Thomas, but longtime Louisiana College assistant Buck Buchanan, known to one and all at LC as “Coach Buck,” remains a winner in the eyes of his fellow coaches and players.

Buchanan, who currently serves as LC’s defensive coordinator but has served as defensive line coach, offensive line coach and offensive coordinator in his decade with the team, was one of three finalists for the award, along with Thomas and Chris Rusiewicz of Ursinus.

“Buck is very deserving,” Louisiana College coach Dennis Dunn said. “He’s a credit to the profession, not just Louisiana College. We’re fortunate he’s here.”

The AFCA assistant coach of the year award is awarded at all five levels of collegiate football competition (Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, NCAA Divisions II and III and the NAIA, and honors the coach who has been most exemplary in service to the community, participation in AFCA activities, participation in other professional organizations, impact on student athletes and on-field success.

Buchanan has measured up to all of the criteria.

His former players have gone onto successful professional careers in a variety of fields.
He is a frequent speaker at churches and civic group meetings both at home and abroad.

He even makes frequent trips to Sweden and Finland on mission trips.

And the on-field accomplishments of Buchanan’s players, who know their coach as “the first to kick them in the butt when they do wrong and the first to hug them when they do right,” speak for themselves.
Buchanan’s defenses have been at the top or among the leaders in virtually every defensive category in the American Southwest Conference.

“In a lot of ways, Buck is a throw back,” Dunn said. “He’s got the drill sergeant haircut and looks like the type of guy who would have really fit in well in the 50’s and 60’s. But he also manages to mix that blue-collar intensity with a compassion for the lives of his players outside of football. It’s tough to mix those two, but Buck is great at doing just that.”

Perhaps most telling of the award, each finalist must be nominated by a fellow coach.
In the case of Buchanan, it was Louisiana College offensive coordinator Sherard Poteete who pushed for Buchanan to be honored.

“When I came here to coach college football, I didn’t know coaches mowed the field and fertilized and sprayed for fire ants and treated the grass for mole crickets and did the laundry,” Poteete said. “Buck’s been doing that for years. He’s a blue-collar guy, definitely not white collar, and that rubs off on the rest of the staff and on the players.

“If you look at the young men who have come through and played four years under Buck, they’re all hard workers, good husbands and successful men. I think a lot of that is because of Buck.”

The 2009 honorees were as follows: Football Bowl Subdivision–Mike MacIntyre, Defensive Coordinator, Duke University; Football Championship Subdivision–Mark Speir, Defensive Ends Coach & Recruiting Coordinator, Appalachian State University; Division II–David Needs, Quarterbacks Coach, Carson-Newman College; Division III–Jeff Thomas, Offensive Coordinator & Quarterbacks Coach, University of Redlands; and NAIA–Josh Gehring, Offensive Coordinator, Morningside College.

“Once again, five outstanding assistant coaches have been selected for their dedication, not only to their teams, but to their communities,” AFCA Executive Director Grant Teaff said in a release. “Often times, the head coach receives much of the credit for his team’s success, but any head coach is only as good as his assistants. Much of an assistant coach’s work is done behind the scenes. It is our pleasure to bring it to the forefront.”

AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year Finalists for 2009
Football Bowl Subdivision: Mike MacIntyre, Duke; Tyrone Nix, Mississippi; Ed Warinner, Kansas
Football Championship Subdivision: Mark Hendrickson, Western Illinois; John Revere, Eastern Kentucky; Mark Speir, Appalachian State
Division II: Brenton Illum, Western State; Ralph Isernia, Charleston; David Needs, Carson-Newman
Division III: Buck Buchanan, Louisiana College; Chris Rusiewicz, Ursinus; Jeff Thomas, Redlands
NAIA: Josh Gehring, Morningside; Dewey Lusk, Virginia-Wise; Doug Schleeman, Montana Tech

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