Football player awarded male Greatest Greyhound

Jeremy Buurma spent the last three seasons leading the Gridiron Greyhounds to 20 victories and the football team’s first post-season appearance since the 1983 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Playoffs.

Back in 2013, he helped the team win a share of the Lone Star Conference title and Eastern New Mexico University’s first winning season in a decade and also beat rival West Texas A&M twice to bring the Wagon Wheel to Portales. He graduated this year with a degree in accounting.

Buurma

For his hard work, Buurma was named the 2015-16 male Greatest Greyhound — an honor given by the ENMU Athletic Department each school year to one male athlete.

Buurma and junior Lauren Frye were selected as the male and female recipients, and both will be officially honored at the ENMU Athletics Hall of honors banquet on Oct. 15 at the Campus Union Building.

What did you want to study at ENMU when you first arrived?

Nothing specific. I started with some business and accounting classes, and I enjoyed them. I took the introductory business classes and stuck with it. I just like math and numbers. I didn’t necessarily want to teach, so I thought business would be a good route to try. I ended up liking it.

Thoughts on Lauren Frye getting the female Greatest Greyhound.

Well deserving. She’s probably going to shatter that kill record. I know she’s a good student athlete, not just on the court, but off the court as well. She’s had a great career, and I want her to have a great final year.

The importance of classes in college, not just athletics.

Coach (Josh) Lynn does a great job with us in class. We do study hall and really do emphasize being a student athlete. I know that’s cliché but that’s something that doesn’t fit the stereotype. I think it’s a good representation of the school for us to not just play but to graduate as well. It’s just part of being a Greyhound athlete. You can’t just do something on the field. You need to be well-rounded.

Thoughts on the new Greyhound Stadium

I think it’s awesome for Eastern and Portales. It should help with recruiting. It should help that whole team spirit aspect. It’s on campus and for new students, it’ll be great.

What were your favorite classes at ENMU?

No class specifically. I really enjoyed the finance side of it. Dr. (David) Hemley’s classes were enjoyable. We had a new program to sit for a certified financial planner. It’s like the CPA test or the GRE.

— Compiled by Staff Writer Matthew Asher