PORTALES N.M.
Former Eastern New Mexico University women’s basketball coach Dan Buzard died Tuesday of brain cancer. He was 39.
Buzard, who died at Roosevelt General Hospital in Portales, guided the Zias to a 47-63 record during his four years as coach.
He was fired in March 2006 and replaced the following month by Linden Weese, who had coached the women’s basketball team at Texas Tech from 1982 through the 2004-2005 season.
Buzard had been an assistant for 13 years under former Zias coach Wayne Moore.
“This boy was special,” Moore said. “He never asked (his team) to do anything he wouldn’t do himself.”
Buzard was diagnosed in July 2004 with a malignant brain tumor that had severely hampered his vision.
Mike Maguire, ENMU athletic director, had said Buzard’s health was not the reason his contract was not renewed.
Buzard, who played basketball and tennis for Portales High School, earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and a master’s in sports administration at ENMU.
He began coaching in 1989 as a student for the Zias and was given the women’s coaching job when Moore retired after the 2001-2002 season.
“He was very moral and a very high-energy person, and he made my job fun every day,” Moore said.
Information from: Portales News-Tribune, http://www.portales-news.com
– Associated Press
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