Mike Bucci, you were one of the greatest running backs in the
history of WPI football. You demonstrated you extraordinary talents
on your very first carry, when you dodged the Fordham defenders and
ran the ball in for a touchdown. By the end of the game, you
chalked up 167 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Your first-year statistics read like many running backs' career
numbers: seven 100-yard rushing games, 1,072 rushing yards and nine
touchdowns. You were only the second running back in WPI history to
surpass 1,000 yards in a season, and only one freshman in all
of NCAA had more yards rushing that you that year. Your performance
in that first season made you the No. 1 freshman running back in
NCAA Division III, earning you the title of Eastern College
Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year.
That first year was just a prelude to a memorable football
career at WPI. No one who was there will ever forget your 97-yard
pass reception and run in the waning minutes of a game against
Bowdoin that put the winning touchdown on the scoreboard.
Achievements like that resulted in your selection to the ECAC
All-New England First team as a sophomore, junior and senior.
By the time of your graduation, you were the university's
all-time leading scorer, with 218 points. Today, you rank second in
career rushing yards (3,274), seventh in career receptions 973) and
eighth in career receiving yards (1,017). All told, you amassed
4,291 all-purpose yards, a figure that puts you in the top five,
all time.
Your involvement in campus activities included serving on the
intramural council and your career has taken you to Georgia where
you now are a consultant for A.T. Kearney Inc.
Mike Bucci, it is with great pride and honor that we recognize
your accomplishments on the WPI gridiron by welcoming you into the
WPI Athletic Hall of Fame.
