Men’s Crew Celebrates 35th Anniversary

The Bucknell Men’s and Women’s teams celebrated the 35th Anniversary of Rowing at Bucknell from September 28-30th in Lewisburg. Events were attended by current student-athletes as well as over 100 alumni from the last 35 years.

Senior John Leasure, a member of the varsity 8, began racing with the team in 2015 and raced in the varsity eight in 2016-2018. John said that the atmosphere during the weekend was great because of the large number of people who attended, and it was one of his most memorable weekends on campus in over three years.

The Bucknell Crew program was firmly established in 1983, with students wading boats directly into the Susquehanna river from shore near campus. The program remained primarily run by students with volunteer coaching throughout the 1980’s, competing at prestigious regattas up and down the east coast including the Head of the Schuylkill and Head of the Charles. A few members from the very early crews were able to attend the weekend, including Mark LaGatta ’87, who spoke at the anniversary banquet on Saturday night.

Other events during the weekend included an alumni row, lunch at Skeeters BBQ overlooking the river, a networking event with the current teams, and plenty of reminiscing. “It’s always great to get former rowers back out on the Susquehanna river,” said head coach Dan Wolleben. “Getting alumni in a boat brings back memories of being on the team, and being at Bucknell, and we know that was an important part of their Bucknell experience and who they are today.”

Bucknell Men’s Crew will continue to celebrate our 35th Anniversary throughout the 2018-19 season, including at the upcoming Head of the Charles Regatta. The team will have an alumni 8 racing on Saturday, and a Men’s Collegiate 8 and Women’s Championship 8 racing on Sunday. We’re looking forward to seeing more alumni from the last 35 years on the banks of the Charles in Boston, as well as throughout the year. Go Bison!