John Buchanan retired as manager of recreation in 1997 after a remarkable 40 years at SFU, but you would never know it.

“I never left the building,” laughs the volunteer head coach of SFU’s golf team, which he reinstated for the university in 2009 after a three-year hiatus to prepare for entry into the NCAA.

Buchanan, 73, now spends 60 hours a week supporting both the men and women’s programs.

With his help, the men’s team placed 77 last year out of 197 in NCAA Division II national rankings.

The women's team, which was re-launched in 2011, “is as yet un-ranked,” says Buchanan.

“However, as the word spreads across the country that SFU offers an alternative to U.S. college golf, our recruiting will improve.”

Buchanan established SFU’s first soccer club in 1966 and coached the team from 1975-81 in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

On his watch, the team won six straight NAIA regional championships and the 1976 national championship at the Pasadena Rose Bowl.

At the same time, Buchanan was assistant coach of the NASL Vancouver Whitecaps, 1975-76, and assistant soccer coach at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

He was inducted as a charter member of the SFU Athletic Hall of Fame 1986 and Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2006.

Along with soccer, Buchanan reorganized the SFU men’s varsity golf team and in 1991 became its head coach, leading the team to win 11 of 13 regional championships.

In all, he took the university’s varsity soccer and golf teams to a combined total of 17 national championships.

These days, he’s at practices four times a week, accompanies the teams to games in the U.S, spends countless hours raising funds and last summer travelled 7,000 km to recruit new players.

So, yes, you could call John Buchanan retired. But he doesn’t appear ready to throw in the golf towel any time soon.