Tim Buckley
Men's Basketball (1981-1983)
Indiana University basketball Assistant Coach
Coaching stints at Univ. of Iowa, Univ. of Wisconsin, Ball State (IN), Marquette University (WI), Bemidji State (MN) and Rockford College (IL)
Has served on Executive Committee for Mid-American Conference, and for NCAA Division I and Division III National Tournaments
In order to succeed at anything, you have to be committed to the tasks at hand. To achieve your goals takes dedication, perseverance, and often times sacrifice. Since his playing days at Waubonsee, Aurora native Tim Buckley has followed this path to get to where he is today, coaching basketball on the college level for a prominent university.
Buckley graduated from Aurora Central Catholic in 1981, and played basketball at Waubonsee the next two years, earning All-Skyway Conference honors his sophomore year. Buckley earned his associate’s degree from Waubonsee and then went on to play two more years at Bemidji State University (BSU) in Minnesota, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Communications in 1986. That same year he began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at BSU. Buckley completed his master’s work in Administration of Physical Education two years later, and moved on to Rockford College. He took over as the Regents’ Head Coach in 1989, becoming the youngest coach in the nation during his debut season. He reached 50 victories faster than any coach in the school’s history.
In 1993, Buckley became an assistant at the University of Wisconsin, helping the Badgers earn their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1947. He spent the next five years as an assistant at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. During his tenure, the Cardinals won the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament and competed in the 1995 NCAA Tournament, and later earned a share of the MAC title and participated in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) in 1998. He was an assistant at Marquette University the next year, helping guide them to a berth in the NIT.
Buckley then took over as Head Coach at Ball State for six seasons. While there he led the Cardinals to a MAC West Division title in 2001-2002, eventually reaching the Elite Eight of the NIT Tournament. Among the team’s 23 wins that season were victories over No. 3 Kansas and No. 4 UCLA. Coach Buckley served as an assistant at the University of Iowa in 2006-2007, before returning to Marquette the following season to help the Golden Eagles reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Buckley then joined the Indiana University’s staff a month later, where today he is the Hoosiers’ top Assistant Coach.
This past February, Buckley was inducted into Bemidji State’s Athletic Hall of Fame. During his 20-plus year career, he has served on the Executive Committee for the MAC, and on Regional Committees for both the NCAA Division I and Division III Tournaments. While at Ball State, Buckley was also on the Board of Directors for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Delaware County, Indiana. He and wife Shannon have one child, 15-year-old Meredith.