Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2013
- Class:
- 1959
As a golfer, Roy Vernon "Buddy" Graham helped Marshall finish as high as second place in the Mid-American Conference. As a coach he did one better, leading the Thundering Herd to the 1966 league title. The Pikeville, Ky., native won numerous tournaments in high school, including the junior state championship, and passed up a scholarship offer from Florida State to walk on at Marshall before earning the school's first golf scholarship in 1956. He played for the Thundering Herd from 1956-59, finishing in the top 10 in the MAC and winning all-conference honors his final two seasons and serving as a team captain as a senior.
Graham then served as an assistant coach for the Thundering Herd’s MAC champion in 1962 and then became the team’s head coach from 1963-69, leading the team to the 1966 MAC crown. He founded the Marshall Invitational golf tournament (now known as the Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational) and quickly established it as one of the premier intercollegiate events in the region. Graham also served in other capacities with the Marshall athletic department and the Big Green Scholarship Foundation.
After leaving Marshall, he began the first AAU youth basketball program in West Virginia and coached teams to AAU national championships in 1975 and 1977. He was director of the Veterans Memorial Field House from 1971-78 and also director of the Mountain State Games, an Olympic style competition for people throughout West Virginia. Graham is a member of the Huntington YMCA Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013. (Pictured far left) with the 1966 MAC Champions.
