| East Tennessee State Buccaneers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | East Tennessee State University |
| Conference | Southern Conference |
| NCAA | Division I(FCS) |
| Athletic director | Dr. Richard Sander |
| Location | Johnson City, Tennessee |
| Varsity teams | 17 |
| Football stadium | William Greene Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Freedom Hall Civic Center |
| Baseball stadium | Thomas Stadium |
| Softball stadium | Betty Basler Field |
| Soccer stadium | Summers-Taylor Stadium |
| Golf course | Warren-Greene Golf Center |
| Tennis venue | Dave Mullins Tennis Complex |
| Other venues | J. Madison Brooks Gymnasium ETSU Athletic Center |
| Mascot | Bucky |
| Nickname | Buccaneers |
| Colors | Navy blue and gold[1] |
| Website | etsubucs |
 | |
TheEast Tennessee State Buccaneers are the 17intercollegiate athletics teams that representEast Tennessee State University (ETSU), located inJohnson City, Tennessee. ETSU's teams include men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, and track and field; women's-only softball and volleyball; and men's-only baseball and football. The Buccaneers compete at theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)Division I level as a member of theSouthern Conference (SoCon).[2]
A member of theSouthern Conference, ETSU sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA-sanctioned sports:[3] The most recent change to ETSU's sports sponsorship was the dropping of men's indoor track & field after the 2022–23 season.[4]
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Cross Country |
| Cross Country | Golf |
| Golf | Soccer |
| Football | Softball |
| Soccer | Tennis |
| Tennis | Track and field1 |
| Track and field2 | Triathlon |
| Volleyball | |
| 1 (indoor & outdoor) –2 (outdoor) | |
Casey Mae Riley serves as the Director of Player Operations. ETSU's baseball team won the2013 Atlantic Sun Tournament with a 7–2 win over Kennesaw State May 26, 2013. The first-ever A-Sun championship for ETSU win earned the Bucs their first NCAA tournament appearance in 32 years.[5]
ETSU has a long history in men's basketball with an all-time record of 1,252–1,005 and 10 overall appearances in theNCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, with their last appearance occurring in 2017. They appeared in the Sweet Sixteen in the1968 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, and have an overall tournament record of 2–10.[6]
The men's head coach is currently Desmond Oliver. He became the 18th head coach in ETSU's 100+ year history. After Steve Forbes left to become head coach of Wake Forest in 2020, assistant Jason Shay became the men's head basketball coach for one season.
ETSU has also had success with their women's basketball program going to theNCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championships in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Besides appearing in theNCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship three times, they have also appearedWomen's National Invitation Tournament three times with their most recent appearance coming in 2015. Overall the women's program has 543–597 record.[7]
The women's head coach is currentlyBrittney Ezell. She became the eighth head coach in the 46-year history of East Tennessee State University women's basketball on May 8, 2013. The 2013–14 campaign—in which the team went 9–21 overall—was Ezell's first leading the Bucs after spending three seasons as the head coach at Belmont University in Nashville. In 2014–15, ETSU experienced an unbelievable turnaround under Ezell with a 16-game win progression from 2013 to 2014 where the Bucs went 9–21. The total win improvement was the second best in the country. The 2014–15 win total of 21 marked the first time since the 2009–10 season that ETSU reached 20 wins. Led by Ezell, the Bucs made it to the Southern Conference Tournament Championship game falling to No.1 seed Chattanooga in overtime, 61–56. ETSU appeared in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) for the third time in school history falling short to NC State, 73–59.[8]
East Tennessee State established its first football team in 1920 when the university was still called East Tennessee State Normal School.[9] ETSU fielded a team every year until the 2004 season when the decision was made to disband the program based on the recommendations of a 1999 Athletic Task Force and then university president Paul Stanton. In January 2013, the Student Government Association approved a student fee increase that would help fund and resurrect the program.[10] FormerUniversity of Tennessee head coachPhillip Fulmer was given the task of helping guide the direction of the new program.[11] On the recommendation of Coach Fulmer, ETSU hired formerUniversity of North Carolina head coachCarl Torbush as the team's new head coach.[12] In the Fall of 2017, the Buccaneers will begin playing on their newly erected football stadium.
Notable football alumni includeDonnie Abraham,Earl Ferrell,Thane Gash,Gerald Sensabaugh andMike Smith. A couple of the more memorable highlights of ETSU football history include the 1969 team that went undefeated and beat Louisiana Tech, led byTerry Bradshaw, in theGrantland Rice Bowl in Baton Rouge, LA and the 1996 team that went 10-3 and advanced to the Division I-AA quarterfinals after defeatingVillanova, 35–29, in a first-round playoff game inMemorial Center.[9]
The men's golf team has won 24 conference championships.[13]
Their best finish in theNCAA Division I Championship was 3rd place in 1996.[13]
Notable ETSU golfers includeEric Axley,Rhys Davies,David Eger,Larry Hinson,Mike Hulbert,Keith Nolan,J. C. Snead,Bobby Wadkins,Garrett Willis andAdrian Meronk.
On May 30, 2013, theSouthern Conference announced that it was extending an invitation for membership to the Buccaneers, effective July 1, 2014. ETSU accepted the invitation and joinedMercer andVMI in the conference, replacingAppalachian State,Davidson,Elon andGeorgia Southern beginning in the league's 2014 season. The Buccaneers rejoined the league after a nine-year absence.
Bucky's background begins with the story of the East Tennessee State University nickname—the Buccaneers. A brief history begins with a Buccaneer, who once roamed a vast area which stretched from the Florida Keys northward. Johnson City, home of ETSU, is located among the mountains of Eastern Tennessee and is a great distance from the ocean, but geologists and archaeologists teamed up and discovered an underground river near the university. Named Pirate Creek, it evidently winds its way through many tunnels.
It is thought that these caverns at one time channeled all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. Soon after this discovery, the legend of buccaneer, Jean Paul LeBucque was found in history books. The legend describes how LeBucque was a nuisance and terror. Evidently, he was looking for a place to hide his great store of gold and treasure, and find safety for himself. He sailed north in search of a new home and began to look inland. Legend states that he discovered the underground river near Johnson City and called Pirate Creek his home. Geologists feel that the upheaval of the Earth's crust, which now blocks the channel, possibly killed LeBucque. This legend is widely accepted and is one way to explain why an inland school would choose a pirate nickname.[14]
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| Related articles | |||||
 Sports teams based inTennessee | ||
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| Baseball |  | |
| Basketball | ||
| Football | ||
| Hockey | ||
| Roller derby | ||
| Soccer | ||
| College athletics (NCAA Division I) | ||
