Founder and first-ever coach of UWGB men’s basketball dies at 86

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Officials from both the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and the Green Bay Athletics Department announced on Monday that the founder and first-ever coach of the university’s men’s basketball program has died at the age of 86.

According to a release , Dave Buss founded Green Bay’s men’s basketball program in 1969 and had almost immediate success as a head coach leading the team to two NCAA Division II runner-up finishes and three DII Final Four appearances from 1969 to 1982.

We mourn the passing of one of the foundational leaders of UW-Green Bay. Although I never had the opportunity to speak to Coach Buss, I can feel his amazing legacy in countless ways. You can measure greatness through wins and losses, but Coach Buss’ legacy can be felt in far more important ways. He created a belief in our University from its earliest stages, showed what is possible for the future, and made a profound difference in the lives of everyone I have spoken to who knew him. I join with our community in celebrating his life and mourning his passing.”

UW-Green Bay Chancellor Michael Alexander

Buss was said to have brought national attention to the Green Bay basketball program for their defense and success as a team which played a key role in the program gaining Division I status.

This is a sad day for all of Phoenix Country. Coach Buss was a true legend who is on the ‘Mount Rushmore’ of UWGB. He believed in this University and basketball program when many didn’t. He built a program from scratch in 1969 and took us to heights never imaginable including elevating Phoenix Athletics to Division I in 1981. He was a visionary and helped build the foundation of excellence that we carry forward today. I was fortunate to be in regular contact with Coach over the past two years and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversations.

He was thrilled with the transformation of Phoenix basketball this past year and I could tell how much this University, program, and community meant to him. I will miss our chats dearly and am so blessed to have been able to call him a friend and mentor. Our deepest condolences go out to his family, former players, and all who knew him. We are eternally grateful for everything he did for UWGB and this community.

Green Bay Director of Athletics Josh Moon

Officials say Buss is one of the only coaches throughout history to have coached for the same school at the NAIA, DII, and DI levels. Buss finished his career with a 271-102 (.726) record in 13 seasons with Green Bay and he was the first coach to be inducted into the Phoenix Hall of Fame in 1995.

The New, and 10th, head coach of the Green Bay Phoenix, Doug Gottlieb, said of Buss’s passing that he wishes he (Gottlieb) had spent more time chatting with Buss while on the phone. Gottlieb adds that he and the rest of the Phoenix Phamily are offering their condolences to Buss’s family and friends.

Officials with the university say that Green Bay men’s Basketball and the Green Bay Athletics department plan to find ways to honor the legacy of coach Buss through this upcoming year.

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