Buccilla Appointed to Lead Terra State Athletics
Jerry Buccilla, in addition to his position as Budget Manager, has been named the new Athletic Director and Head Coach for men’s and women’s basketball at Terra State Community College. Buccilla’s extensive playing, coaching and finance background made him the perfect candidate for these positions. Buccilla will be leading the effort to reinstitute intercollegiate athletics at the College.
“We’re excited to have someone of his caliber leading the reintroduction of athletics,” said Terra State President Ronald Schumacher. “Jerry is a quality individual. He’s someone who has nothing but the best concern for the College and I believe he will make strides in making our college and community we serve very proud of the fact that we’re reintroducing athletics into our campus.”
Buccilla is grateful and excited to officially get started. “I am humbled and very excited to have the opportunity to blend my passions and help move Terra State forward,” he said.
“These responsibilities fit extremely well into my experience and my passion,” Buccilla said. “I know it seems like this is a lot for one person to do, but I’m confident I can do them. I’ve been very fortunate throughout my career to focus in two professional areas: school finance and athletics, in particular basketball. The athletic director position as well as the budgeting and coaching positions all blend together for me.”
Buccilla was a high school and college basketball standout. He played high school basketball at Groveport Madison High School where he helped lead his varsity team to a 38-6 record and two conference championships while garnering all-conference, all-district and all-Ohio honors his senior season.
At Heidelberg University, Buccilla continued his basketball career. He was inducted into the Heidelberg College Hall of Fame in 1999, ranking fifth in scoring for Heidelberg, second in assists, most assists in a season, most seasons with 400 points or more and most games played during a single season. His list of All-Ohio and conference awards is just as long.
Buccilla’s coaching career includes head basketball coaching positions at the high school, NCAA Division III and NCAA Division II levels. Most recently, he spent five years as Tiffin University’s Head Men’s Basketball Coach after serving as an assistant with the team for four years.
In addition to his sports experience, Buccilla has an extensive finance career. He served for more than 12 years as a Chief Financial Officer for four Ohio Public School Districts as well as the Director of Public Finance for a Fortune 100 Capital Markets firm for three years.
“I believe Jerry’s knowledge of budgeting will assist us in achieving our desired outcomes from our athletic program,” Dr. Schumacher said.
Starting this fall, Terra State will officially be taking the court in women’s volleyball and basketball, as well as men’s basketball.
Buccilla is excited to have intercollegiate athletics back at the College. “Terra State has been heading in a very positive direction under President Schumacher and the addition of intercollegiate athletics is only going to add to this positive momentum,” he said.
Terra State will be rejoining the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) and will have three head coaching positions—one for each sport. A head volleyball coach has not yet been named.
The College aims to start team volleyball practice on August 1, 2019, with both basketball teams starting in October.
“I am confident that our new Titan student-athletes will have a positive impact on every facet of the College, including student enrollment and academic programming growth, enhancing our campus culture and increasing the local, regional and national awareness of Terra State,” Buccilla said.