Buchanan to be honored

Shortly before leading his team to an 11th state championship, Aledo Bearcats football coach Tim Buchanan received news that he will be inducted into the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor next summer.

Buchanan is one of five coaches who will be honored at the THSCA Hall of Honor Banquet sponsored by Balfour at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 15, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Houston. The banquet is held in conjunction with the annual THSCA Coaching School and Convention, which will take place July 16-18 in Houston.

Tickets will be available March 1.

Buchanan has coached the Bearcats to eight of the program’s state-record 11 championships, the most recent coming Saturday when they defeated College Station 52-14 for the Class 5A Division I title at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. After the game, Buchanan jokingly asked to be referred to as “Eight Time Timmy!”

“I am extremely honored to be a member of the THSCA Hall of Honor Class of 2023. It is the ultimate honor for a high school coach in Texas,” Buchanan said. “However, I know that the great coaches and players that I have been surrounded by during my career are the reason for my success and induction.”

Aledo Athletic Director Steve Wood, a winner of three state championships coaching the Bearcats (2014, 2016, 2018) said the honor for Buchanan is long overdue.

“If anyone ever deserved to be in there, it’s him,” Wood said. “There has never been a more deserving coach. I’m probably partial, but I’m very proud of him. How could you not be?”

Buchanan attended Abilene Christian University on a football scholarship for one semester before transferring to Southwest Texas State University where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Education. He received his Master’s from Texas A&M in College Station.

Of his 39 years of experience in education, the last 29 have been at Aledo ISD, where all of his head coaching has been. He began his coaching career as an assistant in Florence in 1983. He also coached as an assistant at Bastrop, The Colony, Killeen Ellison and A&M Consolidated.

During his tenure at A&M Consolidated, he was the defensive secondary coach on teams that went 58-13-1, including one state semifinals, two state finals, and one 4A state championship.

At Aledo, Buchanan’s career record is 281-57-3. Buchanan became the full-time athletic director at Aledo from 2014-18 before returning to the sidelines in 2019. He has won state championships in three of four years since his return.

His other state championships leading the Bearcats came in 1998, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013 when the Bearcats became the only team at any level to score more than 1,000 points in a season.

This season’s team began the season 0-2 for the first time in Buchanan’s career. They then reeled off 14 consecutive wins.

Off the field Buchanan has been active in the Texas High School Coaches Association, serving on the Football Advisory Committee from 2004-2007 and on the Board of Directors from 2010-2013. He was recently named one of the Top Ten Football Coaches in Texas by “Dave Campbell’s Texas Football” magazine, and he has received many Coach of the Year Awards statewide and in the district.

Buchanan will be joined in being inducted by former Galena Park North Shore coach David Aymond, former Sanford Fritch head coach Don Cumpton, former San Antonio Roosevelt coach Bryan Dausin, and former Brenham coach Glen West.