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Jim Buzzard, a 1993 Centralia High School graduate, will be one of the seven individuals inducted into the 2025 Eastern Washington University (EWU) Athletics Hall of Fame class.
Buzzard earned NCAA FCS All-America honors twice as an offensive tackle, earning first-team honors in 1997 and third-team accolades in 1996. He earned All-Big Sky Conference first-team honors both seasons.
Buzzard was selected by the EWU athletic department to the “100 for 100” All-Time Football Team, which was honored on Sept. 27, 2008, to commemorate EWU’s 100th year of football. The 1997 football team, which featured Buzzard and won the Big Sky Conference title and advanced to the FCS semifinals, was inducted into the EWU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
Buzzard originally came to EWU as an undersized 6-foot-3, 215-pound defensive lineman, but moved to the offensive line in the spring of 1994 and gained 60 pounds. He started the 1994 season as a backup, but he got a chance to prove himself after a couple of starters went down with injuries. EWU finished just 3-8 overall and 1-7 in the Big Sky, but tailback Joe Sewell rushed for 1,025 yards and 11 touchdowns.
After his Eagles career concluded, Buzzard signed a free agent contract with the San Diego Chargers of the NFL in 1998. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Eastern and then attended law school at Seattle University and the University of Washington. He earned his juris doctorate in law in less than three years and is now owner of Buzzard Law Group in Centralia.
His wife, Meghan, played tennis at Eastern and they have two children. Their son William is a second-generation Eagle football player as a redshirt in 2023 and freshman in 2024.
The 2025 EWU Athletics Hall of Fame class also included men’s basketball player Marc Axton, volleyball player Hayley Hills, men’s golfer Kyle Kelly, football player Jason Marsh, track athlete and men’s basketball player Vic White, as well as the 2004 EWU volleyball team.
The induction ceremony will take place on Oct. 18 in conjunction with Eastern’s football matchup against Idaho. The ceremony is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. on Oct. 18 at the Pence Union Building’s Nysether Community Room on the EWU campus in Cheney, and the public is invited to attend.
Tickets to the ceremony can be reserved online at https://tinyurl.com/ryhzm8eb. Inductees will also be honored at the Eagles volleyball game against Northern Colorado Oct. 17 and at halftime of the football game against Idaho Oct. 18.
Read more at https://goeags.com/honors/eastern-washington-university-athletics-hall-of-fame/jim-buzzard/133
