Football alum and standout wide receiver Bill Buckley is the first inductee of the 2017 Hall of Fame class.
2017 MSU Sports Hall of Fame Class: Bill Buckley Honored
October 31, 2017 | Football, HailStateBEAT
By: Bob Carskadon, HailState Beat
Note: Every day this week, we will recognize a member of the 2017 Mississippi State Sports Hall of Fame Class. The class will be formally inducted at a gala Friday night at the Palmeiro Center's Bryce Griffis Boardroom and recognized during the MSU-UMass game Saturday in Davis Wade Stadium. Festivities get underway at 5:30 p.m. Friday and will include a cocktail reception, private autograph signing, seated dinner and awards ceremony. Tickets are available for purchase at msumclub.org for$100 per person. Proceeds benefit the MSU M-Club Alumni Association.
A Starkville native, few people have done more to make a positive impact in their hometown than Bill Buckley. Growing into a standout player for Starkville High School's football team in the late 1960s, Buckley's star was rising at a young age. He had offers to go all over, and when the young athlete decided to play football and attend school at Mississippi State, he started himself on a path that, some 40-odd years later, has him being inducted into the Mississippi State Sports Hall of Fame.
A three-year letter-winner from 1970-73, Buckley was a transformative player for his era – a stellar wide receiver at a time when people still weren't passing the ball that much. His strong hands, tough build and well-developed athleticism helped make him one of the greats of the SEC in his era.
Buckley actually led the conference in receptions in back-to-back years, capping off his MSU career by leading the SEC in both yards and catches as a senior with 41 receptions for 776 yards in 1873, his final season. For his efforts, Buckley was drafted in the 11th round by the New York Jets, the first receiver they selected that year.
44 years later, Buckley will return to Scott Field this Saturday to be honored as one of the five inductees into MSU's Hall of Fame.
And therein lies much of the reason for his induction into the Hall of Fame this week. Buckley was a tremendous athlete for MSU at a time when the program didn't have much going for it, and for that alone he is deserving of praise. However, Buckley didn't just play his four years and then say goodbye forever.
For over two decades now, Buckley has worked directly with student-athletes at MSU and across the state through his work with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes – just this year he was named the new state director for Mississippi – and it is through those channels that Buckley has continued to make an impact on his alma mater and his hometown.
Tyson Lee, a former MSU quarterback, is the president of the M-Club, the alumni association for former MSU athletes. Beyond that, however, Lee is also one of the people to whom Buckley has meant the most, both as a former boss with the FCA and as a mentor for how to live his life.
Impact like that is one of the recurring themes in this year's Hall of Fame class, and the 10-person committee went into the decision-making process with that in mind. They wanted to find people who had notable athletic achievement, of course, but they also wanted to recognize the people who have taken the values and skills they learned at MSU and successfully applied them in their life after school.
In few people is that combination as noteworthy as it is with Buckley, a tremendous athlete who has, quite literally, made it his life's mission to make a positive impact on everyone he meets.
Note: Every day this week, we will recognize a member of the 2017 Mississippi State Sports Hall of Fame Class. The class will be formally inducted at a gala Friday night at the Palmeiro Center's Bryce Griffis Boardroom and recognized during the MSU-UMass game Saturday in Davis Wade Stadium. Festivities get underway at 5:30 p.m. Friday and will include a cocktail reception, private autograph signing, seated dinner and awards ceremony. Tickets are available for purchase at msumclub.org for$100 per person. Proceeds benefit the MSU M-Club Alumni Association.
A Starkville native, few people have done more to make a positive impact in their hometown than Bill Buckley. Growing into a standout player for Starkville High School's football team in the late 1960s, Buckley's star was rising at a young age. He had offers to go all over, and when the young athlete decided to play football and attend school at Mississippi State, he started himself on a path that, some 40-odd years later, has him being inducted into the Mississippi State Sports Hall of Fame.
A three-year letter-winner from 1970-73, Buckley was a transformative player for his era – a stellar wide receiver at a time when people still weren't passing the ball that much. His strong hands, tough build and well-developed athleticism helped make him one of the greats of the SEC in his era.
Buckley actually led the conference in receptions in back-to-back years, capping off his MSU career by leading the SEC in both yards and catches as a senior with 41 receptions for 776 yards in 1873, his final season. For his efforts, Buckley was drafted in the 11th round by the New York Jets, the first receiver they selected that year.
44 years later, Buckley will return to Scott Field this Saturday to be honored as one of the five inductees into MSU's Hall of Fame.
"Bill is one of the best people I've ever known," MSU Athletic Director John Cohen said. "Bill is just a great human being. I don't know if many of our current student-athletes, many of whom have worked with Bill, realize what a great athlete he was at Mississippi State. Bill is such an attribute not only for our student-athletes but to our coaches, as well. I think he's very deserving of this honor."
And therein lies much of the reason for his induction into the Hall of Fame this week. Buckley was a tremendous athlete for MSU at a time when the program didn't have much going for it, and for that alone he is deserving of praise. However, Buckley didn't just play his four years and then say goodbye forever.
For over two decades now, Buckley has worked directly with student-athletes at MSU and across the state through his work with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes – just this year he was named the new state director for Mississippi – and it is through those channels that Buckley has continued to make an impact on his alma mater and his hometown.
Tyson Lee, a former MSU quarterback, is the president of the M-Club, the alumni association for former MSU athletes. Beyond that, however, Lee is also one of the people to whom Buckley has meant the most, both as a former boss with the FCA and as a mentor for how to live his life.
"I'm grateful for him," Lee said. "I love him. He taught me a lot in my life."
Impact like that is one of the recurring themes in this year's Hall of Fame class, and the 10-person committee went into the decision-making process with that in mind. They wanted to find people who had notable athletic achievement, of course, but they also wanted to recognize the people who have taken the values and skills they learned at MSU and successfully applied them in their life after school.
In few people is that combination as noteworthy as it is with Buckley, a tremendous athlete who has, quite literally, made it his life's mission to make a positive impact on everyone he meets.
"I respect his perseverance," Lee said. "Obviously, on the field, he was a great wide receiver and he did a lot while he was here. Over the course of his life, the way he served the state of Mississippi, I just think his role of service over the years is huge alone. But if you look at what he produced on the football field, his work ethic, I think he learned that growing up in Starkville. He's always known what it means to work hard."
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