‘Amazing’ Buskirk to retire after 38 years of helping KU athletes earn diplomas
The impact of longtime University of Kansas associate athletic director Paul Buskirk on the lives of legions of Jayhawk student-athletes the past 38 years is available for all to see on the Facebook page of the 1983 KU graduate.
Since Saturday, May 24, when he informed his friends on social media of his impending plan to retire, Buskirk has been flooded with well-wishes from 319 individuals (and counting).
Words of praise and thanks for his years of service — mainly spent advising and assisting student-athletes in their pursuit of a degree from Kansas — have come from:
- Former KU football players and/or coaches Tony Blevins, Clint Bowen, Derek Brown, Patrick Brown, Monte Cozzens, Dan Dercher, Chris Enneking, Derek Fine, Marcus Herford, Rob Ianello, Carl Ivey, Charlton Keith, Danny Lewis, George Matsakis, Chris Maumalanga, Jim Moore, Asheiki Preston, Nick Quartaro, Robert Reed, Roger Ross, Mark Simmons, Lubbock Smith, Keon Stowers, Tony Stubbs, Ed Warinner and Gene Weir.
- Basketball players and/or hoops staff members Tamecka Dixon, Jennifer Jackson, Alonzo Jamison, Crystal Kemp, Angie Murphy (Halbleib), Bill Pope, Joanie Stephens and Jo-Jo Witherspoon.
- Baseball players Mike Hill and Lee Ice.
- Tennis player Michael Center and Manuel Ortiz.
- Track standouts Leo Bookman, Candace Dunback, David Johnston, Dorian Jordan, Kristi Kloster Burritt and Olympian Scott Russell.
- Coaches and administrators/staff members Ginger Bliss, Jeff Bollig, Dean Buchan, Pam Byrn, Tracy Bunge, Kalum Haack, Amy Hall-Holt, Nancy Hettwer, Rodney Jones, Gary Kempf, Richard Konzem, Bob Lockwood, Mason Logan, Jim Marchiony, Curtis Marsh, John Novotny, Amy Perko, Mike Strauss, Chris Theisen, Beau White and Doug Vance.
“You are amazing, Paul! Thank you for all of the help you have provided KU student-athletes over the years! A retirement well deserved and a job well done,” wrote Tamecka Dixon, a three-time WNBA all-star and two-time WNBA champion who graduated from KU in 1997.
“Thank you for always being a friendly familiar face throughout my athletic career!!!” wrote world class javelin thrower Scott Russell, who graduated from KU in 2002.
“You have helped countless student athletes and have been a rock in KU athletics. Can’t put in to words how much I appreciate you always being there for me,” wrote former KU football player, assistant coach and interim head coach Clint Bowen, a 1994 Jayhawk graduate.
“Thanks Paul for all you did for KU Athletics student-athlete support services and for being an answered prayer for me when I was transitioning from student assistant to my professional career. You took a chance on me when no one else believed in me and it’s helped me get to where I am today. Greatly wish you the best in retirement. You deserve it sir!” wrote football player Lubbock Smith, a 2011 Kansas graduate.
And from football player Dan Dercher, a 1999 KU grad: “You are a true gentleman and will be sorely missed at KU. Enjoy your second career!”
Buskirk, 63, notes he “will not be idle,” in retirement as he is planning on running for a seat on the Lawrence City Commission this fall.
“I’m not one to stand on the sidelines. (I’ll be) one to engage and be ready to go,” he added enthusiastically in an interview with The Star.
Buskirk — who was born in Holdrege, Nebraska (he and wife Lauren have two daughters; Sierra and Skylar), moved to Grand Junction, Colorado for six years and ultimately landed in Derby, Kansas (he attended Derby High) — has been heartened by all the messages on social media.
He officially retired from his KU post in the field of academic support on Saturday.
“More than overwhelming,” Buskirk said of all the attention he’s received on Facebook. He tossed a bouquet to former KU women’s basketball standout/WNBA player Nakia Sanford who informed Buskirk on a visit to KU that a good way to stay in touch with former KU athletes was via social media posting and direct messaging.
Buskirk has found that to be a correct assertion.
“I wrote that (Facebook) note just to let them know (he was retiring). I was not expecting this wave (of replies). I don’t even have words to express it, but it’s been overwhelming,” Buskirk stated. “I have to be careful. There’s no reason for heads to get big because we’re just there to help these folks along the journey. They did the work,” he added of athletes putting in countless hours to attain degrees. “I’m just honored to be able to say I was a small part of their journey for all these years.”
Thirty-eight years to be exact.
Buskirk was working as a graduate assistant in KU’s office of the provost in 1986. He was encouraged to apply for an academic support position working with coach Bob Valesente’s KU football players.
After first taking himself out of the running for the job, Buskirk, who was not sure he wanted to enter the realm of athletics, quickly realized he made a mistake and accepted the post in KU’s football office seven days after interviewing.
Buskirk — his dad and great grandfather were preachers — shortly after accepting the football job felt the calling to explore ministry work. He enrolled in a Presbyterian Theological Seminary program in 1987 in Austin, Texas.
“Bob (Valesente) is a very strong man of faith. I told him, ‘Val, I think I need to go to seminary.’ He said, ‘Well I’m definitely not going to stand between you and God,’’’ Buskirk explained.
After one semester at the seminary school, Buskirk determined preaching wasn’t his calling.
“We knew that itch has been scratched. We now can push that aside,” Buskirk said of deciding to exit the ministry profession.
He returned to Lawrence and put the finishing touches on his work toward his master’s degree. In August of 1989, word was out that Buskirk was back in town and available for employment. KU athletic director Bob Frederick hired Buskirk as assistant AD, running academic support for KU athletes.
“I’m just very grateful to Bob,” said Buskirk who was associate AD until 2022 when Buskirk, “handed off the baton and took on the role of ‘special advisor for campus engagement.’’’
It’s a job in which he interacted with various deans, not as much contact with the student-athletes.
“I’m very grateful to Travis Goff (current AD),” Buskirk said. “Two-and-a-half years ago we talked along these lines (of changing his role) and we handed the academic director baton to Ryan King who is a great young professional. This transition made this (retirement) a little less painful, more gradual.
“I feel very good about this. I really appreciate academic support folks, because it never gets easier. Challenges such as transfer portals and NIL make that even more interesting. But yes, for the kids that earn the degrees ... that’s something pretty special.”
Buskirk had an open-door policy during his 38 years at KU.
He spoke to countless numbers of students not only about their academic coursework schedules and challenges in the classroom, but visited about anything else on the players’ minds.
The student-athletes, evidenced by the Facebook response, appreciated the extra attention.
“Paul has been a major part of the success of all the student-athletes at KU. He and Scooter (Ward, director of peak performance and leadership) made all of our academic lives easier and went the extra mile in helping us achieve our goals in the classroom,” former KU basketball guard Tyrel Reed told The Star.
“Paul was well organized, thorough, and supportive of each athletes dreams and aspirations in and out of the classroom. We are all thankful for his contributions to the University of Kansas,” Reed added.
Buskirk has dabbled in politics the past few years, running what he called a “very brief race for United States Senate (in 2022).” In 2024 he was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. House representing Kansas’ first congressional district.
“I lost back in November by a fairly hefty margin, unfortunately,” Buskirk said.
He’s hoping for plenty of new adventures if he’s able to be voted into a spot on Lawrence’s City Commission. He’s also eager to stay in contact with many of his colleagues and pupils from his days at KU.
“That’s the $50 question,” he said, asked how he’ll be able to handle retirement. Perhaps he’ll enter the realm of consulting. He has some opinions on the rapidly changing world of college athletics.
“From my perspective, athletics has always been full of change. It’s a constant change every year, from rules books to finances to anything, just constant change,” Buskirk said. “You get used to it after a while. But in the last four years, the transfer portal has not been the first change, but really a huge change to our system, right?
“Then NIL and then going into next fall with the House (court) case, the athletic department has the opportunity to actually put direct money into student-athletes hands. And that is the fastest rate of change that I’ve seen in all these years. Because we’re just barely in the current right now, to be able to judge whether it’s great or not great ... it’s way too early. But you know, this is who we are. This is athletics, and I applaud Travis Goff and everybody else because the cards have been dealt. You play these cards or you’ll not play at all in the process. So I wish everybody the best along the way. Yes, it’s an adventure, it’s an adventure,” he added.
For him, a rewarding 38-year adventure.
