Buck Buchanan Award

File:1986 Jeno's Pizza - 50 - Buck Buchanan and Curley Culp (Buck Buchanan crop).jpg

The award is named to honor the late Buck Buchanan.

The Buck Buchanan Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding defensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football, and was first given in 1995 after the Walter Payton Award was designated solely for offensive players.<ref name="Buck">Template:Cite news</ref>

It was named in honor of Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle Buck Buchanan (died 1992), who starred at Grambling State University. Buchanan was an All-American defensive lineman and the first overall pick in the 1963 American Football League (AFL) Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.<ref name="Buck"/>

Up until presentations for the 2014 season, the Payton and Buchanan Awards were awarded by The Sports Network. Since STATS LLC, now known as Stats Perform, acquired The Sports Network in February 2015, it has presented all of the major FCS awards. Through the 2011 season, the awards were presented the night before the NCAA Division I Football Championship, but the 2012 awards were presented on December 17, nearly three weeks before that season's championship game.<ref name="2012 award">Template:Cite news</ref>

Winners

Year	Winner	School	Position	Template:Abbr
1995	Template:Sortname	Appalachian State	LB	<ref name=BBA1995to2014>Template:Cite news</ref>
1996	Template:Sortname (2)	Appalachian State	LB	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
1997	Template:Sortname	North Carolina A&T	DE	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
1998	Template:Sortname	Western Illinois	LB	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
1999	Template:Sortname	Troy State	DT	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
2000	Template:Sortname	Western Illinois	LB	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
2001	Template:Sortname	James Madison	LB	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
2002	Template:Sortname	Bethune–Cookman	CB	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
2003	Template:Sortname	Idaho State	DE	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
2004	Template:Sortname	Cal Poly	LB	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
2005	Template:Sortname	Cal Poly	DE	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
2006	Template:Sortname	Cal Poly	LB	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
2007	Template:Sortname	Montana	DE	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
2008	Template:Sortname	Eastern Washington	DE	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
2009	Template:Sortname	James Madison	DE	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
2010	Template:Sortname	Eastern Washington	LB	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
2011	Template:Sortname	New Hampshire	LB	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
2012	Template:Sortname	Montana State	DE	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
2013	Template:Sortname	Montana State	DE	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
2014	Template:Sortname	North Dakota State	DE	<ref name=BBA1995to2014/>
2015	Template:Sortname	Norfolk State	LB	<ref name=BBA2015to2023>Template:Cite news</ref>
2016	Template:Sortname	Northern Iowa	DE	<ref name=BBA2015to2023/>
2017	Template:Sortname	Jacksonville State	DE	<ref name=BBA2015to2023/>
2018	Template:Sortname	Southeast Missouri State	LB	<ref name=BBA2015to2023/>
2019	Template:Sortname	Montana	LB	<ref name=BBA2015to2023/>
2020	Template:Sortname	Southern	DL	<ref name=BBA2015to2023/>
2021	Template:Sortname	Florida A&M	LB	<ref name=BBA2015to2023/>
2022	Template:Sortname	Illinois State	LB	<ref name=BBA2015to2023/>
2023	Template:Sortname	Tennessee State	DE	<ref name=BBA2015to2023/>
2024	Template:Sortname	Central Arkansas	DE	<ref name=BBA2015to2023/>

Awards won by school

This is a list of the colleges and universities who have had a player win a Buck Buchanan Award. Cal Poly (2004, 2005, 2006) is the only program with three winners. Appalachian State (1995–1996), Eastern Washington (2008, 2010), James Madison (2001, 2009), Montana (2007, 2019), Montana State (2012–2013), and Western Illinois (1998, 2000), are the only schools to win the award twice. Dexter Coakley of Appalachian State is the only player to win the award twice.

School	Awards
Cal Poly	3
Appalachian State^	2
Eastern Washington
James Madison^
Montana
Montana State
Western Illinois
Bethune–Cookman	1
Central Arkansas
Florida A&M
Idaho State
Illinois State
Jacksonville State^
New Hampshire
Norfolk State
North Carolina A&T
North Dakota State
Northern Iowa
Southeast Missouri State
Southern
Tennessee State
Troy State^

^ Team is now a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

References

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