As the 2019 Kansas high school football season approaches, The Kansas Shrine Bowl Board of Directors is excited to announce the selection of our 2020 Head Coaches. Goddard’s Tommy Beason and Washburn Rural’s Steve Buhler will serve as the Head Coaches for the 2020 Kansas Shrine Bowl, to be held Saturday, July 18th in Yager Stadium at Moore Bowl on the campus of Washburn University in Topeka. Beason will lead the West and Buhler the East. The head coaches are selected by a vote of the previous games staff, including fellow coaches, camp directors, trainers and managers.
For the second time in just three years, the Goddard Lions will have a head coach leading the West squad. Tommy Beason will follow in the footsteps of his predecessor in Goddard, Scott Vang, who led the West in 2018. Coach Beason led the Lions to a 4A Runner-Up finish with a 10-3 record in his first season at the helm in 2018. Coach Beason earned his B.S. in Biology Education from Sterling College and completed his Masters in School Leadership from Baker University. Tom and his wife Colleen have three children, Derek, Owen and Reese. “I am honored to be a part of the Shrine organization and do a small part to help,” said Beason, “I’m excited for the opportunity.”
For the second straight year, the East squad will be represented by a head coach from the Capital City. Washburn Rural’s Steve Buhler is no stranger to the Kansas Shrine Bowl, as this will be sixth time coaching in the game and his second as head coach. Buhler led the East squad in 2008 while he was at Rossville. Coach Buhler led the Junior Blues to a 7-3 record in 2018. Buhler is 30-27 at Washburn Rural and 150-81 overall. Coach Buhler joins Silverlake’s C.J. Hamilton, Pittsburg’s Larry Garman and Hayden’s Tom Stringer, who each served as the East Head Coach two times. Coach Buhler earned his bachelor’s in Communications from Benedictine, his Master’s in Communications from Fort Hays State University and his Education Certificate from Newman University. Steve and his wife Shelly have three children, Matt, Mitch, and Maura.
“It’s a great honor to serve as a head coach in the Kansas Shrine Bowl,” said Kansas Shrine Bowl Executive Director, B.J. Harris. “The fact that it is decided on by a vote of their peers, is certainly a special thing for our coaches.” “Our 2019 coaching staffs were filled with quality coaches, any of them would be of been great for our game.” “Coach Buhler and Coach Beason each bring tremendous experience and energy and they definitely understand the meaning behind our game,” added Harris, “I’m looking forward to working with them this year.”
The Kansas Shrine Bowl is an all-star high school senior, East vs. West, football game put on each year in Kansas, by the Kansas Shrine. It is a 501(c) 3 non-profit charity that produces annual events and related activities, with net proceeds benefiting Shriners Hospitals for Children. The game has been played throughout Kansas each summer at host cities across Kansas and will return to Topeka on July 18th, 2020.