FOUNDATION TIES Joyce and Christopher S. “Chris” Buchanan • Donor • George G. “Buck” Buchanan Football Scholarship
GEAUX COWBOYS Joyce and Christopher S. “Chris” Buchanan’s computer expertise is one of the many commonalities they share from their 30-year marriage. The love of football and quilt making are two others.
Chris came to McNeese State University as a member of the largest graduating class at LaGrange High School. After finishing McNeese in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science degree in math and computer science, Chris worked in the computer industry. His career took him to New Orleans, Lake Charles and Beaumont, Texas, at times as an employee as well as an independent consultant. Joyce [Smith], a graduate of Starks High School, attended Lamar State University in Beaumont, where she received an Associate of Science degree in business data processing in 1978. Joyce and Chris met on the job when he hired her to work as a Cobalt programmer. Avid beachgoers and shell collectors, the Buchanans honeymooned in the Bahamas. Riding the Jitney one day, they heard that President Ronald Reagan had died. It was three days before they heard another broadcast that clarified he was not dead, but recovering from his wounds. Chris’ father, George G. “Buck” Buchanan, influenced his love of football. Buck played basketball, ran track and managed football and baseball while in high school in Florida. In 1946, Buck and his wife, Frances, moved to Lake Charles for employment. Buck was a devoted LaGrange High School football fan and didn’t miss a game in 43 years.
“Chris” Buchanan
McNeese played its first game at Cowboy Stadium in 1965. Until then, football games were played at Lake Charles High School’s Wildcat Stadium. The first game at Wildcat Stadium was in 1940, the last was in 1964. The first game in Cowboy Stadium was Sept. 18, 1965. The score was Tampa (now South Florida) 16, McNeese 12. The first McNeese victory in Cowboy Stadium was on Oct. 2, 1965, with McNeese 20, Louisiana Tech 14.
Louis Bonnette Senior Associate Athletics Director/Sports Information Director 14
Buck also loved McNeese football. He and Chris attended McNeese’s home games at Lake Charles High School’s Wildcat Stadium. They followed the Cowboys for away games as well, often traveling with Buck’s good friend, Earl Barger. Chris served as the navigator. Buck was a founding member of the 100 Club for football boosters. Frances was known as the Cookie Lady since she baked cookies for the team from 19752001. In 2002, Joyce and Chris established the George G. “Buck” Buchanan Football Scholarship in memory of Chris’ father who had since passed away. Chris is more than a sit-in-the-stand fan. In 2002, he spent his summer working with booster club members and prison inmates to pressure wash and paint Cowboy Stadium. Chris and his friends also created the sports message board, GeauxCowboys.com, so that sports fans would have a forum to communicate. When Joyce and Chris aren’t attending McNeese’s athletic events, they can be found making quilts for auction at the McNeese Athletic Foundation’s annual fundraiser, Denim and Diamonds. The Buchanan’s daughter, Erin, is an assistant professor of psychology at Missouri State University in Springfield. Their son, Scott, is following in their footsteps as a senior computer science major at McNeese.