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.[1]

Buck Buchanan Award
Awarded forMost Outstanding Defensive Player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision
CountryUnited States
Presented byStats Perform
History
First award1995
Most recentTerrell Allen, DE, Tennessee State
Websitewww.fcs.football
The award is named to honor the late Buck Buchanan.

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.[1]

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.[2]

Winners

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Year Winner School Position Ref.
1995 Dexter Coakley Appalachian State LB [3]
1996 Dexter Coakley (2) Appalachian State LB [3]
1997 Chris McNeil North Carolina A&T DE [3]
1998 James Milton Western Illinois LB [3]
1999 Al Lucas Troy State DT [3]
2000 Edgerton Hartwell Western Illinois LB [3]
2001 Derrick Lloyd James Madison LB [3]
2002 Rashean Mathis Bethune–Cookman CB [3]
2003 Jared Allen Idaho State DE [3]
2004 Jordan Beck Cal Poly LB [3]
2005 Chris Gocong Cal Poly DE [3]
2006 Kyle Shotwell Cal Poly LB [3]
2007 Kroy Biermann Montana DE [3]
2008 Greg Peach Eastern Washington DE [3]
2009 Arthur Moats James Madison DE [3]
2010 J. C. Sherritt Eastern Washington LB [3]
2011 Matt Evans New Hampshire LB [3]
2012 Caleb Schreibeis Montana State DE [3]
2013 Brad Daly Montana State DE [3]
2014 Kyle Emanuel North Dakota State DE [3]
2015 Deon King Norfolk State LB [4]
2016 Karter Schult Northern Iowa DE [4]
2017 Darius Jackson Jacksonville State DE [4]
2018 Zach Hall Southeast Missouri State LB [4]
2019 Dante Olson Montana LB [4]
2020 Jordan Lewis Southern DL [4]
2021 Isaiah Land Florida A&M LB [4]
2022 Zeke Vandenburgh Illinois State LB [4]
2023 Terrell Allen Tennessee State DE [4]

Awards won by school

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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
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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  1. ^ a b "Buck Buchanan Award". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2011-04-04. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  2. ^ "Old Dominion's Heinicke captures 2012 Walter Payton Award". The Sports Network. December 17, 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-08-22. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "Buck Buchanan Award -- History (1995–2014)". The Sports Network. 2015-01-06. Archived from the original on 2015-01-07. Retrieved 2024-08-29. [note: includes details about each winner's accomplishments during their award year]
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Becton, Stan (2024-01-06). "Buck Buchanan Award: Complete history of the FCS defensive honor (1995–2023)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Archived from the original on 2024-01-07. Retrieved 2024-08-30. [note: includes details about the award itself, and a simple list of each year's winner]