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Former soccer All-American, Bussani, to be inducted into athletics hall of fame
This is the second of five stories featuring each of the six inductees to this year’s Hall of Fame.
By Aaron Garland
On October 2, 2012
In the early 1970's, when former Buffalo State men's soccer coach and Athletics Director Fred
Hartrick helped develop an indoor soccer program at the college, there was no way of knowing
what it would lead to. After all, indoor soccer was largely unchartered territory in the country at
the time.
It turns out the idea evolved into a major recruiting tool for the Buffalo State soccer program,
as they hosted high school indoor soccer tournaments to evaluate talent in the area year-
round. That is how Hartrick first discovered Gianni Bussani, a 1985 graduate who is being
inducted into the Buffalo State Athletics Hall of Fame later this month.
Bussani, who attended Kenmore East High School, is still considered by Hartrick to be one of
the best players to ever compete at the indoor tournaments. He knew he had to get Bussani in
a Bengals uniform after watching him play. The midfielder ended up wearing orange and black
from 1980-81 and 83-84 - and he was proud to do so.
"I thoroughly enjoyed my years at Buff State, and this is just an incredible honor and was not
anything I had ever dreamt of achieving," Bussani said of his hall-of-fame career.
As much as he impressed during the indoor competitions, his accomplishments on the
collegiate level proved to be even stronger.
Bussani was a stalwart for three teams that made the NCAA tournament. He was a three-time
SUNYAC first team selection and was named an All-American and Buffalo State male athlete of
the year during his sophomore year in 1981. He finished his career with 29 goals and 18 assists
in 68 games played.
For a man with so many impressive accomplishments on the field, Bussani was nearly at a
complete loss for words in explaining what the induction means to him.
"It's an incredible honor," he said. "It's humbling, I don't know how else to explain it. It's
something that's really special."
Bussani was coached by Hartrick, a Buffalo State Hall-of-Famer, for his first two years until
Hartrick retired his position to Jean Tassy, who coached Bussani's junior and senior seasons.
Tassy, a hall of fame player himself at the school from 1970-72, loved the luxury of having
Bussani's versatility on the field. That, coupled with his physical prowess, set him apart from
the competition.
"Gianni was a very strong and physical player," Tassy said. "Very technical on the ball, so I had
the opportunity to use him in the midfield, and then when I needed his powerful shot, I played
him on top as a striker. His strength lied really in his power and physical play."
Hartrick will be presenting his former player with the prestigious honor, and is privileged he
was asked personally by Bussani to participate in the sure-to-be jovial ceremony.
"That's always the highest honor that any coach can have, as far as I'm concerned - just one of
his former players getting inducted into a hall of fame, asks the coach to present him," Hartrick
said.
Their relationship was not always welcoming and receptive, as their ideas of team play differed.
The head butting between the two didn't last long though, and a mutual respect has remained
to this day.
"We overcame (our differences), quite obviously," Hartrick said. "He was just a very highly-
skilled player coming in and it didn't take long before he adapted to the need for team play, as
opposed to individual standout play and that's a tough adjustment to make for a lot of kids."
Bussani learned invaluable amounts from the hall of fame coach, crediting much of his coaching
to his success.
"Playing for coach Hartrick was probably the highlight of my college career," Bussani said. "I
became an All-American my (sophomore year) under him. I loved his approach and I think I
tried to model my coaching after his. He was a pretty tough guy - he's kind of a no-nonsense
kind of coach, which I liked."
Nowadays, Bussani has a coaching style of his own. He is the current head coach of the varsity
soccer team at Fairport High School near Rochester, NY, where he is also a technology teacher.
He noted the important lessons he learned while playing at Buff State, and said he has applied
it to the life he lives now.
"I learned about commitment and hard work, and that you can't rely just on talent," Bussani
said. "You have to approach everything you do in life with a great deal of heart and passion and
determination."
Bussani will be inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame Saturday, Oct. 27 in the Sports Arena.
Tickets can be purchased for $20 by calling (716) 878-6514.
Aaron Garland can be reached by email at garland.record@live.com.
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