MANKATO, Minn. --- Minnesota State is celebrating Director of Athletics Kevin Buisman's 25th year with the Mavericks by highlighting 25 outstanding student-athletes who have helped shaped the athletic department's history.  The first selection to be announced is David Backes.
 
The 25 for 25 series will recognize 25 of the most accomplished and memorable Maverick student-athletes from the past quarter-century, beginning with Buisman's arrival at Minnesota State in 2002.  Over the next three months, the 25 outstanding student-athletes will be announced in no particular order with ten announced between now and the end of October, ten more throughout November and five in December prior to the Christmas holiday.
 
Please click here for the complete list of selections as they are announced.
 
"David helped establish the credibility of our hockey program at a really important time," Buisman said.  "He was one of our first true 'big-time' recruits who made people sit up and take notice and who had an immediate positive impact on the program."
 
Hailing from Blaine, Minn., David Backes played in 115 games during his three seasons at Minnesota State as he recorded 46 goals and 73 assists for 119 career points. He was named to the 2003-04 WCHA All-Rookie Team, and would be named to the All-WCHA Third Team as a sophomore. During his junior season, Backes garnered All-WCHA Second Team honors, before claiming CoSIDA Academic All-American Second Team honors.
 
"My years at Minnesota State were some of the most important in all of my life," Backes said.  "I arrived as a young player with a lot to learn and Mankato gave me the opportunity to grow – as a hockey player, a student and a person.  The coaches, teammates and people around the athletic department challenge me, believed in me and helped prepare me for opportunities in hockey that I am not sure I could have imagined when I first stepped on campus."
 
Backes led the team in goals (17) and points (40) during his sophomore season. He again led the team in points during his junior campaign with 42. Backes finished his career as a Maverick ranked third in points in the Division I era with 119.  He was inducted into the Minnesota State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.
 
In 2003, Backes was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the second round (62nd overall) of the NHL Draft and made his NHL debut on Dec. 19, 2006. Backes, who was named the Blues' team captain in 2011, would go on to play 15 seasons in the NHL playing with the St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins and Anaheim Ducks. In 965 career games in the NHL, Backes recorded 248 goals and 313 assists for 561 points. 
 
"What I value even more looking back is that the growth went well beyond the rink," Backes added.  "The lessons, relationships and experiences from those years helped shape the husband, father, teammate and person I became."
 
Backes also competed for Team USA at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, where he won a silver medal, and the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
 
"From Minnesota State to the NHL and ultimately representing the United States in the Olympics, his career beyond Maverick hockey was truly remarkable," Buisman added.  "What makes David's legacy here especially meaningful is that he never forgot where he came from and he has maintained those ties to the program over time.  His generosity, including his lead gift to establish the David Backes Strength and Conditioning Room, has helped strengthen the program for the generations that followed him.  I also have tremendous respect for the way he valued his education. Even while competing professionally, David made completing his degree a priority. That combination of competitive excellence, generosity and commitment to education defines the greatness that surrounds David Backes' time as a Maverick."
 
Buisman is the longest -serving athletics director in Minnesota State University history and one of the longest-tenured athletics directors in NCAA Division II. Since his appointment on July 26, 2002, he has helped establish Maverick Athletics as one of the nation's premier NCAA Division II athletics programs through a combination of strategic vision, competitive excellence, facility development and organizational leadership.

Under Buisman's leadership, Minnesota State has captured five NCAA Division II national championships, including women's basketball (2008-09, 2023-24), men's basketball (2023-24), women's indoor track & field (2021-22) and softball (2017). In total, Maverick teams have made 124 NCAA Division II postseason appearances and 11 NCAA Division I postseason appearances in men's hockey under Buisman's watch, with two student-athletes named as Honda's NCAA Division II Female Athlete of the Year.

"Kevin Buisman has been a constant part of Minnesota State Athletics and has helped create an environment where student-athletes can develop, compete and become better versions of themselves," Backes said.  "I am grateful to have been a small part of that history and proud to be a Maverick.  Congratulations to Kevin on 25 years of leadership and service to Minnesota State."