Since being reinstated in 2010, Pacific University Football has come a long way.
“We have a long term plan to be competitive with the top teams in the conference,” Buckley said. “To achieve this, we wanted to build our program around the ‘4-year player’ without having to regenerate every two years with new junior college transfers.
This ‘four-year player’ plan came with many downfalls. In a game against Whitworth in 2011, Pacific had a loss ending with a final score of 48-6.
“We struggled in a lot of ways and it was the first time we’ve ever played an uninspired game,” Buckley said. “After such a devastating loss, we went back to the drawing board to assess what was wrong and what needed improvement.”
The following week, the team defeated the University of Puget Sound 44 to 25.
“After that victory, we all felt like a weight had been lifted from our shoulders and we were finally seeing the results we were working toward,” Buckley said.
Last year, Pacific’s season opener win against Adrian College sparked the beginning of victories for their next four games.
“We had a great start last year, but then we played Pacific Lutheran University and had a field goal deflect off a helmet as time expired to make it our first loss of the season,” Buckley said. “From there, as a team, we were in the field of competitiveness and were as close to the conference championship as any team was.
Even after starting the season with two losses, Buckley has high hopes for his player’s future performance.
“This year our players have become driven to close the gap from last year and continue to grow as a successful football program,” he said.
The football team will play the University of Chicago in an away game Sept. 27 at 12 p.m.
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