HANOVER, N.H. Walter "Buzz" Congram, longtime coach at Northeastern, has been named the interim men's varsity heavyweight rowing coach at Dartmouth. Congram will fill in for Scott Armstrong who has taken a one-year leave of absence.
"I am really excited to get back into coaching in the EARC," said Congram. "The league is so exciting and the racing is so competitive. I am looking forward to the opportunity to keep the Dartmouth crew program going at full throttle during Scott's absence."
Congram brings a wealth of experience to the Big Green. Most recently, he helped to establish the women's varsity lightweight crew program at M.I.T. in 2003. Prior to that, Congram served as the men's varsity heavyweight coach at Northeastern from 1978-2001. It was there that he left his mark on the rowing world.
After more than two decades with the Huskies, he was inducted into the Northeastern Hall of Fame. In his honor, the Northeastern-Rutgers race is now contested for the Congram Cup. During his tenure, the Huskies were consistent finalists at the Eastern Sprints and the IRA Regatta. His crews captured silver medals at the Sprints in 1991 and 1995 and won bronze medals in 1981 and 1988. At the IRA regatta, his teams struck gold in 1988 and 1991.
Prior to his stint with Northeastern, Congram was the men's freshman heavyweight coach at Yale from 1970-78. While with the Bulldogs, he produced the first freshman crew to beat Harvard in 13 years. Before coaching at Yale, he spent five years as the men's freshman heavyweight coach at Rutgers and three years as the men's freshman Congram has also distinguished himself in international circles, guiding the U.S. men's lightweight eight to a bronze medal at the world championships in Villach, Austria in 1976. He led the U.S. women's four to a silver at the world championships in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1982.
After graduating with a degree in economics from Columbia in 1962, Congram went on to earn his M.B.A. there in 1965. He spent one season on the varsity crew in 1962 and also was a quarterback and wide receiver on the Lions' 1961 Ivy Championship football team.