Levick to receive Wartburg Medal at tournament played in his honor
November 14, 2019
Lewis Buzz Levick
The medal will be presented to Levick before the 8 p.m. tipoff of the Wartburg versus Iowa Wesleyan game. The men’s basketball program has hosted the Buzz Levick Tournament every November since 2002. Home basketball games are played in the 1,800-seat Levick Arena, also named in his honor. The Wartburg Medal is awarded by the college to recognize individuals who have provided significant service to the college over a sustained period of time, and recipients have a personal commitment to the college’s mission, quality and character.
Levick, who was the head men’s basketball coach from 1965 to 1993, is revered for his inspiring commitment and loyalty to former players and longtime service to Wartburg College. In those 28 years, he compiled a 510-226 record and guided his teams to 14 Iowa Conference championships (including nine consecutive from 1967 to 1975), 13 postseason tournaments and two NCAA quarterfinal finishes. Seven of his players were named All-Americans and 58 were All-Conference selections.
He was named Iowa Conference Coach of the Year nine times. At the time of his retirement in 1993, he was ranked 28th among the winningest men’s collegiate coaches and was one of only 65 coaches in the nation with 500 or more wins. He is Wartburg’s all-time winningest men’s basketball coach with a .693 winning percentage. He was inducted into the Des Moines Register’s Hall of Fame in 1998 with an overall career record of 747-328.
Levick started the Wartburg Hall of Fame in 1996 and shepherded that athletics recognition event for 20 years. He was recognized as a Wartburg Hall of Famer in 1999 and honorary Wartburg alumnus in 2014. He was the subject of a Department of Journalism and Communication senior capstone documentary in 2016, which can be viewed at https://livestream.com/wartburgknightvision/capstone (starts at 43:18).