# Buck Buchanan Award

The Buck Buchanan Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding defensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football, and was first given in 1995 after the Walter Payton Award was designated solely for offensive players.
It was named in honor of Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle Buck Buchanan (died 1992), who starred at Grambling State University. Buchanan was an All-American defensive lineman and the first overall pick in the 1963 American Football League (AFL) Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Up until presentations for the 2014 season, the Payton and Buchanan Awards were awarded by The Sports Network. Since STATS LLC, now known as Stats Perform, acquired The Sports Network in February 2015, it has presented all of the major FCS awards. Through the 2011 season, the awards were presented the night before the NCAA Division I Football Championship, but the 2012 awards were presented on December 17, nearly three weeks before that season's championship game.

## Winners

| Year | Winner | School | Position |
| 1995 | Dexter Coakley | Appalachian State | LB |
| 1996 | Dexter Coakley (2) | Appalachian State | LB |
| 1997 | Chris McNeil | North Carolina A&T | DE |
| 1998 | James Milton | Western Illinois | LB |
| 1999 | Al Lucas | Troy State | DT |
| 2000 | Edgerton Hartwell | Western Illinois | LB |
| 2001 | Derrick Lloyd | James Madison | LB |
| 2002 | Rashean Mathis | Bethune–Cookman | CB |
| 2003 | Jared Allen | Idaho State | DE |
| 2004 | Jordan Beck | Cal Poly | LB |
| 2005 | Chris Gocong | Cal Poly | DE |
| 2006 | Kyle Shotwell | Cal Poly | LB |
| 2007 | Kroy Biermann | Montana | DE |
| 2008 | Greg Peach | Eastern Washington | DE |
| 2009 | Arthur Moats | James Madison | DE |
| 2010 | J. C. Sherritt | Eastern Washington | LB |
| 2011 | Matt Evans | New Hampshire | LB |
| 2012 | Caleb Schreibeis | Montana State | DE |
| 2013 | Brad Daly | Montana State | DE |
| 2014 | Kyle Emanuel | North Dakota State | DE |
| 2015 | Deon King | Norfolk State | LB |
| 2016 | Karter Schult | Northern Iowa | DE |
| 2017 | Darius Jackson | Jacksonville State | DE |
| 2018 | Zach Hall | Southeast Missouri State | LB |
| 2019 | Dante Olson | Montana | LB |
| 2020 | Jordan Lewis | Southern | DL |
| 2021 | Isaiah Land | Florida A&M | LB |
| 2022 | Zeke Vandenburgh | Illinois State | LB |
| 2023 | Terrell Allen | Tennessee State | DE |
| 2024 | David Walker | Central Arkansas | DE |

## Awards won by school

This is a list of the colleges and universities who have had a player win a Buck Buchanan Award. Cal Poly (2004, 2005, 2006) is the only program with three winners. Appalachian State (1995–1996), Eastern Washington (2008, 2010), James Madison (2001, 2009), Montana (2007, 2019), Montana State (2012–2013), and Western Illinois (1998, 2000), are the only schools to win the award twice. Dexter Coakley of Appalachian State is the only player to win the award twice.
| School | Awards |
| Cal Poly | 3 |
| Appalachian State^ | 2 |
| Eastern Washington | 2 |
| James Madison^ | 2 |
| Montana | 2 |
| Montana State | 2 |
| Western Illinois | 2 |
| Bethune–Cookman | 1 |
| Central Arkansas | 1 |
| Florida A&M | 1 |
| Idaho State | 1 |
| Illinois State | 1 |
| Jacksonville State^ | 1 |
| New Hampshire | 1 |
| Norfolk State | 1 |
| North Carolina A&T | 1 |
| North Dakota State | 1 |
| Northern Iowa | 1 |
| Southeast Missouri State | 1 |
| Southern | 1 |
| Tennessee State | 1 |
| Troy State^ | 1 |
    ^ Team is now a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).