Gary M. Buer (born June 8, 1946) is an American educator and former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach. He served as the head football coach at

Dakota State University Dakota State University (DSU) is a public university in Madison, South Dakota. The school was founded in 1881 as a normal school, or teacher training school. Education is still the university's heritage mission, but a signature mission of tech ...

Madison, South Dakota Madison is a city in Lake County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 6,191 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lake County and is home to Dakota State University. Geography Madison is located at (44.007734, -97.114738). ...

in 1977 to 1978, Southwest State University—now known as

Southwest Minnesota State University Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) is a public university in Marshall, Minnesota. It is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. The university has an enrollment of approximately 8,700 students and employs 148 fa ...

—in

Marshall, Minnesota Marshall is a city in Lyon County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,680 at the 2010 census. Marshall is a regional center in southwest Minnesota, and the county seat of Lyon County. It is the headquarters of the Schwan Food Com ...

from 1979 to 1992, and

Southern Virginia University Southern Virginia University (SVU) is a private liberal arts college in Buena Vista, Virginia. The college, though not officially affiliated with a particular faith, embraces the values of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Ch ...

Buena Vista, Virginia Buena Vista ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city located in the Blue Ridge Mountains region of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 6,641. The Bureau of Econ ...

from 2003 to 2006, compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

coaching record of 92–102–5.

Playing career and military service

A native of

Atwater, Minnesota Atwater is a city in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,124 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total a ...

, Buer graduated from the

University of Minnesota Morris The University of Minnesota Morris (UMN Morris) is a public liberal arts college in Morris, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and was founded in 1960 as a public, co-educational, residential liberal arts college offering ...

, where he played

as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. In 1970, Buer enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

serving in South Vietnam.

Coaching career

Early coaching career

After being honorably discharged from the Army, Buer worked as the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

St. Cloud State University St. Cloud State University (SCSU) is a public university in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Founded in 1869, the university is one of the largest institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. Its enrollment in 2020 was approximately ...

St. Cloud, Minnesota St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 68,881 at the 2020 census, making it Minnesota's 12th-largest city. St. Cloud is the county seat of Stear ...

, where he earned a master's degree. In 1973, he was an at

. Buer then spent two years as an assistant his alma mater, the University of Minnesota Morris, before returning to Dakota State in March 1976 as head

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

coach and

for the football team. By August 176, Buer has moved on to

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYU) as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research respons ...

. With four other graduate assistants, he coached junior varsity football team, while earning his doctorate in physical education and athletic administration.

Head coach at Dakota State

Buer's first head coaching position was at Dakota State. During his two seasons, the Trojans compiled a record of 18–2 and he was named NAIA District Coach of the Year and conference Coach of the Year in 1977 and 1978.

Minnesota

Buer coached at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

from 1993 to 1996 under

Jim Wacker James Herbert Wacker (April 28, 1937 – August 26, 2003) was an American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Texas Lutheran University (1971–1975), North Dakota State University (1976–1 ...

Marshall Senior High School

Buer served as head football coach and activities director at Marshall Senior High School in

from 1997 to 2000.

Sabino High School

In 2001, Gary Buer was hired as head football coach at

Sabino High School Sabino High is a public secondary education school located in Tucson, Arizona. Located on the northeast side of the city, it is a part of the Tucson Unified School District. The principal is Kevin Amidan. History The school was established in 1 ...

Tanque Verde, Arizona Tanque Verde is a suburban unincorporated community in Pima County, Arizona, United States, northeast of Tucson. The population was 16,195 at the 2000 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Tanque Verde a ...

. Sabino finished 5–5 in 2001 and 853 in 2002. Sabino won the league championship and made a state playoff appearance in 2002. In 2003, Buer left the Sabercats to build a new college football program at a small, private liberal arts college in Buena Vista, VA.

Southern Virginia

In 2003, Buer was named the first head football coach at

. He helped to build the new football program and held that position for four seasons, from 2003 until 2006. His coaching record at Southern Virginia was 4–31.

Independence High School

Gary Buer was named head football coach at Independence High School in

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located approximately northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 248,325. History In the la ...

in 2007. In 2009 the Patriot football team won the Western Sky Region Championship and Buer was voted Region "Coach of The Year" by his coaching peers.

Head coaching record

College football

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buer, Gary 1946 births Living people American football defensive ends Dakota State Trojans baseball coaches Dakota State Trojans football coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches Minnesota Morris Cougars football coaches Minnesota Morris Cougars football players Southern Virginia Knights football coaches Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs football coaches St. Cloud State Huskies football coaches High school football coaches in Arizona High school football coaches in Minnesota Brigham Young University alumni St. Cloud State University alumni United States Army soldiers People from Kandiyohi County, Minnesota