Bucknell University Athletics
Bob Schanbacher Retires after 22 Years of Distinguished Service
7/2/2013 8:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
July 2, 2013
LEWISBURG, Pa. - After 22 years with the Bucknell track and field program, assistant coach Bob Schanbacher has announced his retirement. In more than two decades with the Bison, Schanbacher guided his throwers to 78 conference titles, four All-America citations, nearly four dozen school records and a trio of Patriot League records that still stand.
"Coach Schanbacher was a great coach, mentor and role model for many student-athletes and coaches during his coaching career at Bucknell," said head coach Kevin Donner. "He was a tremendous teacher with great communication skills that always brought out the best in his athletes.
"Our throws area has been very instrumental in numerous East Coast Conference and Patriot League team titles, and he coached numerous individual champions including a few NCAA All-Americans," continued Donner. "That is a huge accomplishment for a coach at an institution that is academically driven without athletic merit aid. I have learned a lot from Coach Schanbacher over the past 12 years, and he will definitely be missed."
"When I first agreed to coach under the late Art Gulden," said Schanbacher, "I never thought I would be here for more than three years. As it turns out I stayed a few extra. Bucknell was a wonderful place to coach. I was given the opportunity to touch young lives as they learned to make larger commitments to themselves and others. One might think I was coaching athletics and track and field alone, but I always chose to coach the entire person wherever that led me. Most of my athletes knew I was not that interested in their marks, but I was committed to them and their pursuit."
Most recently, Schanbacher helped to bring out the best in Leonard Joseph, who graduated in May after being named an All-American in the hammer throw for a second consecutive season. Joseph also became Bucknell's first-ever IC4A champion in the hammer throw, just months after winning the Bison's second consecutive IC4A title in the weight throw.
"Coach Schanbacher's impact on my life is not limited to the development I experienced in throwing," said Joseph upon his coach's announcement to step down. "I am a better all-around person as a direct result of his words and wisdom. Few coaches in the NCAA have seen a fraction of the success that this man has seen in any sport, let alone just the throws. His ability to take mid-level athletes to the top caliber level is truly astounding. My athletic career at Bucknell is largely a product of his relentless commitment to developing his athletes at the personal level. Congratulations on a remarkable coaching career. He will go down as a legend in the throwing community across the country."
Joseph was Schanbacher's fourth All-American after James Heizman in the hammer in 1996 and Ted Heitzman and Laura Rycek in the javelin in 2011. In all, Bucknell has had 13 male and 18 female throwers advance to the NCAA Regionals and beyond under Schanbacher's tutelage.
Having coached Bucknell in the ECC and the Patriot League, Schanbacher has led 78 Bison to individual conference titles. The shot put has been an exceptionally consistent and strong point for Bucknell in recent years. The Bison have won gold indoors in four of the last five years on the men's side and each of the last four on the women's. The women have also won four of the last five shot put titles outdoors. Schanbacher's women's hammer throwers have claimed six titles since the start of the Patriot League with four of those going to Maria Garcia, the only conference athlete to sweep the event in a career.
Today three Patriot League records still belong to Bucknell throwers. Heitzman became the eighth Bison male to win the javelin in 2011 and set the conference standard that same year. Marjorie Grap also set the top mark in the weight throw in 2007, while Garcia won her fourth title with a record in 2004.
Bucknell's own record books are loaded with Schanbacher's charges as well. Not only have his athletes set the school record in all throws events both indoors and out - weight throw, shot put, discus, hammer throw and javelin - but Schanbacher's Bison occupy all top-10 spots in the women's weight throw and hammer as well as the men's outdoor shot put and hammer throw.
Schanbacher's success has extended beyond the individual level during his tenure. With him as part of the coaching staff, Bucknell has claimed 39 ECC and Patriot League team championships. Most recently the Bison men won a fourth consecutive conference title outdoors for the first time in program history. The women also swept the Patriot League track and field championships in 2013.
Bucknell's success in the throws has been recognized by others as well during Schanbacher's career. Seven Bison have been voted the Field Athlete of the Meet and two more throwers have been named Rookie of the Meet at the Patriot League Championships since 2004. In 2007 Joshua Kaehler was selected as the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year for outdoor track. He was also named Academic All-District that same season, while Beverly Rogers (2008), Jonathan Lockhart (2009), Luke Webster (2013) and Joseph (2013) also received All-District honors.
"Coach Schanbacher has created a lasting legacy of throwing excellence in Bucknell `s track and field program," said 2006 graduate Dan Frake, who won a Patriot League title in the hammer throw during his senior year. "During his 22 years at Bucknell, all of the men's and women's indoor and outdoor throwing event records have been set and reset. His quiet, yet intense style of coaching empowered his athletes to take each day by the horns, bison horns. When Coach speaks he commands your attention and immediately motivates you to excellence. He showed us how to fully dedicate ourselves to both personal and team goals. He has the uncanny ability to get the best out of his athletes, have them give 100 percent, and then show you an attainable performance level beyond what you thought was your limit. Only after my time at Bucknell did I realize that these lessons have stayed with me in my career and as a father. I could not have asked for a better coach, mentor, and friend. He has invested so much in Bucknell and his athletes. He has shaped a better future for us all and we are grateful for the sacrifices he and his family have made. He will truly be missed in his coaching capacity and we wish him the best in a well-deserved and fruitful retirement."
A 1973 graduate of East Stroudsburg University and the recipient of a master's degree from Wisconsin-La Crosse, Schanbacher also previously served as the head coach of the cross country and track and field teams at Lewisburg High School, where he led teams to 14 conference championships and two District 4 AA titles. He is also a popular physical education teacher in the Lewisburg School District.
