LEWISBURG, Pa. — Bucknell University Senior Associate Director of Athletics, External Affairs and Bison Club, Todd Newcomb talks with current Bison head coach John McBride, senior attacker Jared Stanley (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) and alumni Jay Fisette ’78, Dan Richards ’78, Andy Karpuk ’79, Dan Wilson ’80 and Mark Gensheimer ’81.
Fisette was the third-leading scorer on the inaugural varsity team in 1977, and his 156 points (11th) and 81 assists (third) remain among the highest single-season totals in team history. Fisette was a First Team All-Mid-Atlantic Conference selection and All-Eastern Championship selection in 1977. Like many in that era, Richards competed for both the Bison swimming and water polo teams at Bucknell. He and his wife, Chris, honored Coach Russell in 2009 by establishing the Russell Endowment to enhance the Bison water polo programs. Karpuk (1978) and Wilson (1979) were captains on NCAA Tournament teams, and Gensheimer remains one of the top scorers in program history with 244 goals (5th), 152 assists (8th) and 396 points (6th). He was a two-time All-Eastern Championship selection.
After Dick Russell founded the club water polo team in 1970, the program was elevated to varsity status in 1977. The addition of men’s water polo and women’s lacrosse during the 1977-78 academic year brought Bucknell’s varsity sports count to 20, up from just nine a decade earlier. Initially comprised primarily of members of the varsity swimming team, the Bison water polo club achieved tremendous success, highlighted by a perfect 17-0 season in 1974 and Eastern Water Polo League (EWPL) Southern Division championship in 1974 and 1975. The squad just missed another Eastern title in 1976, and then in the very first varsity season in 1977, the Bison went 28-5 and qualified for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship for the first of four straight seasons. A young freshman named Scott Schulte burst onto the scene with 154 goals and 62 assists. Schulte would go on to become a two-time All-America selection and the highest scorer in NCAA history.
