Debbie Buff enters her seventh season and sixth recruiting class. Coming of back-to-back Mountain East Conference Championships and NCAA appearances. Following a 25-7 season finish in 2015-16, the Lady Cards completed 2016-17 even stronger with a record of 27-6 and 16-4 MEC.
Coming into the new season, total rebuild from hire and developing the new recruits is planned, after the Cardinals fell in the NCAA playoffs against National Runner Up Virginia Union. Buff looks to rebuild this season with a young but focused team.
Coach Buff joined the WJU coaching staff in 2011 in hopes of revitalizing the women’s basketball program. Buff is no stranger to this task as demonstrated in previous rebuilding challenges.
In her first graduating recruiting class, the Cardinals won the Mountain East Conference Championship with an exciting win over crosstown rival West Liberty. The Cardinals tied the school record with the most victories in a single season, finishing with a record of 27-6.
Buff also guided the Cardinals to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006, and recorded the programs first ever NCAA Tournament win, 71-69 over West Chester. Coach Buff returns 11 players from the 2015-16 MEC Championship team with the addition of seven incoming freshmen.
Prior to her arrival at Wheeling Jesuit, Buff spent two seasons at Endicott College where she led the Lady Gulls to a 42-14 record with back to back Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament appearances. During the 2008-09 season, the Gulls made the Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Tournament Final and finished with the most wins in school history at 23-6; Endicott finished 19-8 the following season.
Before becoming head coach at Endicott, Buff was the head coach at RIT for five seasons where she took on the task of inheriting a team that was 1-23. During her time in Rochester, she turned the program around and led the Lady Tigers to the Empire Elite Tournament and first-ever ECAC Tournament appearance. She also earned Empire Eight Coach of the Year in 2006-2007 with a school best record of 15-12 on the year.
Prior to her collegiate head coaching career, Buff served as first assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the NCAA Division II powerhouse College of St. Rose in Albany, N.Y. for three years. During her time at St. Rose, the Golden Knights program won three consecutive New York Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships and achieved a 34-1 record in the 1999-2000 season. She also helped lead the Golden Knights to a No. 1 National ranking in 1999-2000, and an NCAA Elite Eight appearance. Their only loss of the 1999-2000 season came in the Elite Eight to Northern Kentucky, who proceeded to win the National Championship. Accompanying her accolades as assistant, Buff also had the experience of working with two Olympic athletes.
Buff spent fourteen years at the high school level at Bishop Maginn before entering her collegiate coaching career. In her 14 years there, she recorded 203 wins and 57 losses while capturing five Big 10 Conference Championships, a Section II Title, a Regional Title, and a New York State Class A Title. During her 1996 New York State Tile run, Buff was named NYS Coach of the Year which helped springboard her into the Maginn Hall of Fame in 2005. Throughout her time at Bishop Maginn, Buff exemplified her dedication to the building block of family by having her father, Lou Buff, work alongside her every step of the way, including the 1996 run to the State Title.
Along with an extensive coaching career, Buff brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Wheeling Jesuit Athletic Department. She graduated from State University of New York College at Cortland with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education with a minor in Psychology and received a Master's in Health Education from Russell Sage College.
During her time at Cortland, Buff competed three years for the women’s basketball team and in her fourth year moved on to compete in the Skylon International Marathon in New York. Not only does she preach fitness as a paramount standard within her program but she practices it, which can be seen in her in competition in seven triathlons most notably the Lake Placid Olympic Tour Triathlon.
Buff also has been extremely influential in the community with her service to the Make-a-Wish Foundation and Special Olympics. She has volunteered with these organizations for over seven years and has actively had her student-athletes and teams make an impact as well.
In addition, Buff performed a variety of administrative duties over the years, including an athletic director role at Class A-Bishop Maginn High School in Albany, N.Y. She also spent time in the classroom as a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) which directly translates to her teams’ academic success. Furthermore, Buff takes pride in her role as Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Committee Captain.
