Buck Buchanan Award

The Buck Buchanan Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding defensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision 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 the late National Football League (NFL) player Junious "Buck" Buchanan, 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.

Both the Payton and Buchanan Awards are awarded by The Sports Network. 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. Only one school, Cal Poly has won the award three (3) times, 2004–2006. Appalachian State, 1995–1996, Eastern Washington, 2008 and 2010, and James Madison, 2001 and 2009 are the only schools to win the award twice (2). Dexter Coakley of Appalachian State is the only player to win the award twice (2).