Chris Bucknam

Chris Bucknam

Player Profile

Position:
Director of Running Programs

One name is synonymous with the strong Panther track and field tradition of success: Chris Bucknam. Now in his 22nd season as head coach and second season as Director of Running Programs, Bucknam has helped UNI develop into one of the strongest running schools in the nation.

Since his arrival in 1979 as an assistant to long-time head coach Lynn King, the Panthers have won or shared 30 conference titles in track and field and cross country and have produced 26 all-Americans and two national champs. After being promoted to head coach in 1984, Bucknam has taken the Panther track and field program to new levels. He has produced two national champions and an outstanding 28 all-Americans in the 75 qualifiers he has sent to the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships.

Bucknam's success is evident not only to UNI but to the nation as well. Bucknam was awarded District V Coach of the Year and was a finalist for National Coach of the Year in 1995 after the Panthers won the MVC outdoor championships. He boasts 12 Missouri Valley Coach of the Year awards and was honored as the United States Track Association's Regional Coach of the Year for the third time after the men won their 2004 MVC title. Prior to joining the Valley, Bucknam was named the top coach in the MidContinent Conference seven times.

A native of Beverly, Mass., Bucknam attended Norwich University in Northfield, Vt., where he was a four-time letterwinner in track, specializing in the middle distances. He was elected co-captain his senior year and graduated in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in physical education. He earned his master's in physical education from UNI in 1982.

Bucknam and his wife, Cindy, reside in Cedar Falls with their son, Eric, and daughter, Kate.

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