Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2012
Craig Reynolds arrived in Lewisburg as a 24-year-old in 1967 and would go on to spend 38 years as a coach and administrator at Bucknell. He coached the men's soccer, tennis and track and field teams, and he served as an assistant director of athletics for facilities and event management upon his retirement in 2005. Reynolds is one of only three coaches in Bucknell history to post 100 or more victories in two different sports (238 in soccer and 168 in tennis).
Reynolds is best-known for his 32-year stint as head men's soccer coach, where his 238-212-36 career record makes him the winningest coach in program history. An All-America player himself at West Chester just two years before taking the Bucknell coaching post, Reynolds inherited a Bison side that was returning only three lettermen from a team that had finished 2-10-1 the year before. But in his very first year in 1967, Bucknell finished 8-4, setting a new record for wins in a season. The Bison were 8-4 again the next year, and in season No. 3, his squad finished 10-1-2 and captured the Middle Atlantic Conference title for the first time in 21 years.
That kicked off a stellar stretch from 1974-76, when his teams posted three straight 10-win seasons and went to the NCAA Tournament each year. In 1974, the Bison went 12-1-2, captured the East Coast Conference title, earned a national ranking and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Reynolds was named Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year in 1976.Â
Reynolds also coached track and field from 1968-70, helping the Bison shatter eight program records. But when veteran tennis coach Hank Peters passed away in 1970, Reynolds vacated his track and field post - his replacement was future Hall-of-Famer Art Gulden -- and began a very successful 22-year tenure on the tennis courts. Reynolds compiled a career record of 168-116-1 in tennis and led the Bison two league titles in the MAC and one each in the ECC and Patriot League.
Reynolds retired as soccer coach in 1998 and transitioned into an administrative role. As assistant AD for facilities and events management, he helped facilitate the athletic department's transition into the new Kenneth Langone Athletics and Recreation Center, which opened in 2002.
Reynolds mentored six Hall-of-Fame soccer players and three Hall-of-Fame tennis players during his career.
