Ithaca College Athletics

A true Bomber through-and-through, Gary Bucci has been involved with Ithaca Athletics as a two-sport athlete, football assistant coach and radio broadcaster for the better part of 20-plus years.

As a two-sport athlete on the gridiron and diamond, Bucci was a three-year starter for both programs. He played on three national runner-up teams, two for football (1974-75) and one for baseball (1976). As a defensive back, Bucci recorded 13 interceptions in his career, and played quarterback one season due to numerous injuries. On the diamond, he hit .278 in his career with eight home runs, 37 RBI, 50 runs scored and 50 walks. He was named to the All-World Series Team in 1976, as he batted 6-for-10 with five RBI and four runs scored.

During his time as an assistant coach to Jim Butterfield (1977-83) and Mike Welch (2001-06), Bucci worked with the receivers. He was a staff member on the 1979 National Championship team and the 1980 runner-up squad, as well as an assistant on three NCAA teams during Welch's tenure. From 2002-06, IC garnered seven Empire 8 All-Conference honors – Justin Esposito (2003-05), Jeff Welch (2003-04), Pete McCaffrey (2002) and Kelly Gordon (2006). Ithaca was 95-28 with Bucci on the sidelines. He then returned to the coaching staff in 2017 after the appointment of Dan Swanstrom, and has served as a running backs coach for the past two years.

After his first stint as an assistant, Bucci moved into the radio booth and served as a color commentator for WTKO from 1983-87. During that time, he was on the call for nine playoff games, including the 1985 National Championship game against Augustana.