Gary Buer
Gary M. Buer is an American educator and former football coach. He served as the head football coach at Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota in 1977 to 1978, Southwest State University—now known as Southwest [Minnesota State University]—in Marshall, Minnesota from 1979 to 1992, and Southern Virginia University in Buena Vista, Virginia from 2003 to 2006, compiling a career college football coaching record of 92–102–5.
Playing career and military service
A native of Atwater, Minnesota, Buer graduated from the University of Minnesota Morris, where he played college football as a defensive end. In 1970, Buer enlisted in the United States Army, serving in South Vietnam.Coaching career
Early coaching career
After being honorably discharged from the Army, Buer worked as the defensive coordinator at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where he earned a master's degree. In 1973, he was at Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota. Buer then spent two years as an assistant at his alma mater, the University of Minnesota Morris, before returning to Dakota State in March 1976 as head baseball coach and defensive coordinator for the football team. By August 176, Buer has moved on to Brigham Young University as a graduate assistant. With four other graduate assistants, he coached a junior varsity football team, while earning his doctorate in physical education and athletic administration.Head coach at Dakota State
Buer's first head coaching position was at Dakota State. During his two seasons, the Trojans compiled a record of 18–2, and he was named NAIA District Coach of the Year and conference Coach of the Year in 1977 and 1978.Minnesota
Buer coached at the University of Minnesota from 1993 to 1996 under Jim Wacker.Southwest State University
Buer was head football coach at SSU from 1979 to 1992 and led the Mustangs from the bottom of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference to one of the top teams in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics ; including a conference championship and two trips to the NAIA national playoffs.The winningest coach in school history with a 70-69-5 record, Buer's 1987 squad qualified for the school's first NAIA Division I playoff appearance, while his 1990 team won the school's first-ever conference championship and advanced to the NAIA national playoffs. Possibly one of Buer's best teams was the 1991 squad that finished 9–1 overall, but a close loss to Moorhead State cost the team a conference title and a return trip to the NAIA playoffs.
During his tenure at SSU, Buer was named the Northern Intercollegiate Coach of the Year in 1987 and the NAIA District Coach of the Year in 1985, 1987 and 1990. He also served three years as the director of men's athletics at the university from May 1989 to August 1992.