TRACKING NEWEST RAZORBACK Beverly's Bucknam replaces coaching legend at Arkansas

Chris Bucknam of Beverly had a fulfilling career as the head track coach at the University of Northern Iowa.

He spent 25 years there. He could've stretched it to 35 years and then bowed out with a remarkable record and great memories.

"I could have coached there the rest of the way," said Bucknam, 52, who developed teams that were competitive in the NCAA championships and was named conference coach of the year 33 times. "I could have finished my career there."

But despite his affinity for the athletes and the people in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the lure of coaching at the University of Arkansas proved irresistible for Bucknam, who was recently introduced as the head of the men's track and field program in Fayetteville.

All you need to know about Arkansas is that the previous coach was John McDonnell, who guided the Razorbacks to 42 national titles in cross country and track — that's more championships than any coach in NCAA history in any sport — before announcing his retirement this spring after 36 seasons.

So Bucknam, who was one of the great Beverly High runners in the early 1970s, has some massive shoes to fill in Razorback Nation. From a coaching standpoint, it's like replacing Dean Smith in basketball or Joe Paterno in football. It's prestigious, but when you're replacing an icon, who needs the aggravation?

"I got asked that question (about taking over for a legend) at the press conference," said Bucknam, who has a four-year contract. "I'm not going to downplay it, but it's a moot point. He (McDonnell) is not going to be replaced. Nobody can replace a guy like that. I'm looking to start a new era. I have to respect the past and the great pedigree that they have. But if I look over my shoulder, I'll crash and burn.

"If I try to replicate what McDonnell did, do it the way he did it, it won't work. When this job opened up, some people told me it was a no-win situation. I don't look at it that way. I don't want to sound cocky, but I see it as an opportunity to have success. They have that pedigree and that history and a lot of other things going for them."

Now the Razorbacks also have Bucknam going for them. He went out on a high note at Northern Iowa, steering the Panthers to their best-ever outdoor showing this season as they finished 11th at NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. Yes, they finished higher than Arkansas, and this came on the heels of Northern Iowa's ninth place finish at the NCAA indoor meet, which ranks as its greatest achievement for the winter season.

Over the years, Bucknam has led the Panthers to 35 Mid-Continent or Missouri Valley conference titles and he's had 34 All-Americans, who earned a total of 85 All-American awards. The pace has accelerated since 2005, with Northern Iowa male athletes earning All-American status 47 times. That's the 10th highest total in the country.

"He's reaching the epitome of his career," Fred Hammond, who coached Bucknam at Beverly, said of Bucknam, who also coached the women's program at Northern Iowa. "He's had all this success and he's done it with high school kids from Iowa and (neighboring) states and a few international athletes."

It's no accident that Bucknam landed at Arkansas. Jeff Long, who is the vice chancellor and director of athletics at Arkansas, essentially recruited Bucknam. Long wasn't some guy calling from an ivory tower in Fayetteville, selling him on the program. He showed up at the NCAA outdoor championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines and approached Bucknam to gauge his interest in Arkansas.

"When (Long) came to Des Moines, I knew right then and there that this is an athletic director who supports track and field," said Bucknam. "He was looking for the right guy and he goes to the NCAA championships to do it. I just felt comfortable with that (approach).

"Obviously, Arkansas has great facilities and they're in the SEC (Southeastern Conference), but what impressed me the most was the athletic director. He believes I can do it. Jeff Long is the reason I'm at Arkansas."

Separating himself from Iowa isn't easy for Bucknam. He made his coaching reputation and raised a family there. He and his wife, Cindy, just celebrated their 27th anniversary. They have a son, Eric, 20, who will continue to attend Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, Iowa, and a daughter, Kate, 15, who will be a sophomore in the Fayetteville high school system. Overall, Northern Iowa treated him well and he served them well in return.

"It's a phenomenal school, even though a lot of people aren't very familiar with it," said Bucknam. "We've had some famous athletes there. Kurt Warner (the NFL quarterback) came out of there and Dedrick Ward ran for me and (eventually) played football for the Patriots. In track, we found a way to get it done even though we had to contend with some natural barriers."

He won't have those obstacles with the Razorbacks. He'll have to work at recruiting — that never changes — but top of the line track and field athletes have been known to make Arkansas their destination. Bucknam will have greater resources than he ever had at Northern Iowa. The trick will be to keep the Razorbacks up there with the best teams in the country.

"I'm excited about the freshness of being in a new place," said Bucknam. "I've been affiliated with the Missouri Valley Conference since 1991. Now it'll be nice to go to places like Baton Rouge (LSU), University of Florida, the Boston Indoor Games and Madison Square Garden. Those things are exciting to me. But the thing that makes me get up in the morning is being with the athletes, and I'll be meeting new athletes at Arkansas.

"My objective is to help this team transition to a new coach. I don't think that coaching at Arkansas will be any different. My philosophy won't change. Kids don't care how much you know, they want to know how much you care. If you care about them, it overcomes a lot of obstacles."

Bucknam had a caring coach at Beverly High in Hammond, who was instrumental in molding him into an outstanding runner. Bucknam was the captain of the Panthers cross country team when it won the Class A state title in 1973 — the last time Beverly achieved that particular feat. He also combined with Rick Purdy, John Tonneson and Jim McGilloway for a school record in the 2-mile relay with a time of 8:13.

Hammond, who also coached Bucknam's brothers, Paul and Mark, in the 1970s, remembers Chris as a great kid who had a little mischief in him.

"We had Bucknam and Chris Staples and that group — they all came out of Memorial Junior High," recalled Hammond, who is putting a book together on the history of Beverly High track. "They were all good students and good runners. But I do remember one time when those guys ran down to Rantoul Street and stretched themselves all the way across, blocking the street. I didn't (reprimand) them. It was a just a joke. Harmless."

Bucknam couldn't specifically recall he and his teammates stopping traffic on Rantoul Street but admits it could have happened.

"I did some dumb stuff in high school," he said. "I probably did do something silly like that."

What wasn't silly was his relationship with Hammond and the life lessons he learned at Beverly High. Those things put him on a path to Norwich University, where he got the coaching bug, and set the tone for many of the choices he made as an adult.

"For lack of a better term, Beverly High turned me on to track and field," said Bucknam. "My brother Paul was two years ahead of me and the kids on that track team (1971-72) were winners and that's what attracted me to it. And Fred (Hammond) was the instigator.

"Coach Hammond was not a real person to me at first. I was afraid of him. He was a legendary guy even back then and as a young kid, you wanted to perform well for him. That's where the (fear) came in — I was just young. But Hammond never yelled at us. He would tell you what to do. Our workouts were unbelievable and you just felt confident running for coach Hammond and Beverly High."

Bucknam said there was one time where he overdid the celebrating after a cross country meet. Hammond immediately put the young runner in his place and Bucknam never forgot it.

"I destroyed it after the meet," recalled Bucknam. "I had the cheer going and Fred got mad at me. He said, 'We don't do stuff like that. We don't rub it into the other team.' If we were cocky, he knocked us down and made us humble. It was a good lesson. Those are the types of things you take with you."

Family: He and his wife, Cindy, have a son, Eric, 20, and a daughter, Kate, 15. Bucknam's parents live in Marblehead.

New coaching position: Heading up the men's track and field program at the University of Arkansas, a traditional NCAA Division 1 power

Head coaching experience: University of Northern Iowa head men's track and field/cross country, 1984-2008; head women's track and field/cross country, 1997-2008.

Northern Iowa career highlights: 33-time conference coach of the year; produced three national champions and 34 All-Americans; guided the Panthers to 25 Missouri Valley Conference titles and 231 MVC individual crowns; coached nine Academic All-Americans; posted back-to-back ninth place (Northern Iowa's best ever) finishes at the Division 1 NCAA Indoor Championships (2007-08) and the school's best ever 11th place finish at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Quotable: "Chris is an outstanding coach and a real go-getter. He has achieved success at the national level without the benefit of resources of other top national programs. I'm pleased that Chris Bucknam is a Razorback and I'm confident that with his leadership, our program will continue to flourish." — Legendary Arkansas coach John McDonnell, who won 42 national titles in cross country and track before retiring this spring.

Photos

Chris Bucknam, left, who ran for Beverly High in the 1970s and then led the Northern Iowa program for 25 years, will have big shoes to fill as head track coach at Arkansas. Bucknam replaces John McDonnell, who won 42 NCAA titles in cross country and track & field. Courtesy photo