George F. "Buddy" Sasser is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and athletics administrator. As commissioner of the

Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...

between 1989 and 1996, Sasser was responsible for increasing membership, gaining automatic bids to the NCAA basketball tournament and adding basketball television exposure for the conference.

Biography

Born in

Conway, South Carolina Conway is a city in and the county seat of Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 24,849 at the 2020 census, up from 17,103 in the 2010 census, making it the 18th-most populous city in the state. The city is part of ...

, Sasser played college football for the University of North Carolina Tarheels earning two letters, the last in 1956. Sasser served as athletic director and head football coach at Conway High School from 1963 to 1970, leading the Tigers to a 66–17–5 record. He was assistant football coach and assistant athletic director at

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a Public university, public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a normal school, teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and th ...

from 1972 until 1977, and was athletic director and head football coach from 1977 until 1982 at

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1854, it is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that still ope ...

. He served as

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, ...

's athletic director from 1986 until 1989 and again from 1996 until 1999.

Honors and awards

In 1982, Sasser was named Kodak Coach of the Year for the college division.Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
, Sasser Hall of Fame Members, 2010 He was inducted, along with three other

athletic administrators and student athletes, in the inaugural class of the Big South Conference Hall of Fame. Each year, the George F. "Buddy" Sasser Cup Trophy (named for him in 2000) is awarded to the Big South member institution that has the most successful year in athletics."Liberty University Leads Sasser Cup Race"
Big South Conference, December 2, 2009

's Athletic Hall of Fame was named in honor of Sasser on June 4, 2003.

Head coaching record

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sasser, Buddy Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Appalachian State Mountaineers football coaches Big South Conference commissioners Coastal Carolina Chanticleers athletic directors East Tennessee State Buccaneers athletic directors East Tennessee State Buccaneers football coaches North Carolina Tar Heels football players Wofford Terriers athletic directors Wofford Terriers football coaches High school athletic directors in the United States High school football coaches in South Carolina People from Conway, South Carolina