North Idaho Hall of Fame to induct Winger, Templeman, Buchanan, Rasmussen, Iupati
COEUR D’ALENE — Four individuals with long-standing ties to the North Idaho athletic scene, as well as a former University of Idaho and pro football player, are among the 2025 inductees into the North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame, NIAHF officials announced.
Former Coeur d’Alene and Lake City High basketball coach Jim Winger, track throwing coach Bart Templeman, former University of Idaho volleyball coach Debbie Buchanan, former Coeur d’Alene High and University of Montana football athlete and community booster Rick Rasmussen, and Mike Iupati, former UI and NFL defensive lineman, are the honorees this year.
The five will be inducted during the Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet, which is set for Saturday, April 12, at The Coeur d’Alene Resort. Tickets for the banquet, which also features the North Idaho High School Awards, are $40 each and can be purchased online either by going to www.nihof.org after Wednesday, March 19, and clicking on the “Purchase Tickets” brown box. Reserved tables for eight also can be purchased for $400. New University of Idaho football coach Thomas Ford will be the featured speaker.
Current and former student-athletes from northern Idaho high schools and colleges also will be honored that night. The finalists for each award will be announced on March 20. Each student-athlete nominated for an award that night can obtain a free ticket to the banquet. Information on how to obtain that ticket will be announced at the same time as the finalists.
Winger spent 26 years as a head boys basketball coach at the high school level in Coeur d’Alene and capped his career in grand fashion. He led Lake City to a perfect 26-0 record in 2023 and its first state basketball title in program history.
Winger spent 48 years in the Coeur d’Alene School District as a student, student-teacher, teacher, coach and administrator. He was athletic director for 22 years at Lake City, where he was the school’s first basketball coach.
Winger played basketball and baseball at Coeur d’Alene High, where he graduated in 1984. He then played baseball for a season at North Idaho College before transferring to Gonzaga University, where he played baseball and graduated in 1989. He taught three years at Lakes Middle School in Coeur d’Alene and then was hired as boys basketball coach at Coeur d’Alene High where he went 33-18 in his two years.
In 1994, Winger went to the new high school in town, Lake City, and posted a 151-73 record in nine seasons, but he stepped down midway through the 2001-02 academic year to become the Timberwolves’ athletic director. However, he couldn’t stay away from the sidelines and returned five years later as basketball coach and guided the team for another 15 years. Overall, he posted a 410-222 record in 26 seasons at the two schools.
In his time, Lake City qualified for state in 13 of his 24 seasons and played in three title games. He also led the Timberwolves to two third-place finishes.
Winger stepped down as Lake City’s athletic director in 2022, and as basketball coach following the 2022-23 season. During his career, he also coached freshman football at both schools, American Legion baseball, was a volunteer high school baseball assistant coach, and coached softball and golf. He officiated high school basketball, football and baseball and was a college baseball umpire.
Buchanan spent 22 seasons as head volleyball coach at Idaho. She retired following the 2021 season with 320 wins, 16 conference postseason appearances and two trips to the NCAA Tournament. She is the program’s all-time winningest coach with an overall record of 320-317, including a 198-164 record in Big Sky, Big West, and Western Athletic Conference play.
Under Buchanan, the Vandals made a conference postseason tournament in each of her final 16 seasons.
Buchanan, a native of St. Maries, took over the helm in 2000 and led Idaho to victories over nationally ranked teams in each of her first two seasons. In 2003, the Vandals received their first at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and duplicated the feat in 2004, which led to a thrilling five-set win over 13th-ranked UC Santa Clara. That is the program’s lone win in the NCAA Tournament as well as the highest ranked team it has defeated.
Idaho moved to the WAC the following season and advanced to the conference tournament championship in 2012. During 2011, Buchanan was named the WAC Coach of the Year and had six players earn all-WAC honors. Her teams went 91-52 (.636) in conference play over the nine years in the WAC.
Idaho then went back to the Big Sky in 2013 and earned a share of the conference title in 2018.
During her coaching career, Buchanan had one player earn All-American honors, two earn AVCA All-Region honors, 49 earn all-conference awards, and 12 earn all-conference freshman team honors. She also had 80 earn all-academic honors.
Buchanan (then Debbie Martin) led St. Maries High to four state A-2 volleyball championships and earned a scholarship to USC. However, a knee injury suffered in a high school basketball game during her senior season ultimately cut short her volleyball career at USC. She was an assistant at Idaho and Colorado State before becoming the Vandals' head coach.
Buchanan and her husband Buck have two boys, Austin and Blake, who are both college athletes.
A former college football and track athlete, high school coach, college coach, and business owner, Templeman is best known for what he’s done to help throwers as the founder of the Iron Wood Throwers Center in Rathdrum.
In 2013, Templeman purchased five acres in Rathdrum and put in a world class indoor/outdoor throwing training facility for the shot put, discus and hammer. A few years later he purchased another five acres and added a javelin throwing area. He and his staff coach athletes in age from 12 to 75 and each spring he hosts the Iron Wood Throwers Classic, a competition for post collegiate athletes training for the Olympics and for the top high school throwers from across the United States.
Templeman graduated from Salmon High in Idaho and then played football and competed in throwing events at Boise Junior College during 1962-64. He then transferred to Eastern Montana College in Billings where he did both sports.
After his senior year the San Francisco 49ers made Templeman their 16th round selection in the NFL draft. He played center during the spring and fall camps but was cut after four months. He then tried out with Denver but was cut after two months.
After returning to Idaho, Templeman coached football, track and wrestling while teaching at Minico High in Rupert, including three years as head football coach. He then went to Boise High where he was head wrestling coach and an assistant coach in football and track.
In 1979, he moved to Coeur d’Alene where he started working at a local building supply company before starting his own wholesale building supply company in 1981. He also served as a volunteer throwing coach at Coeur d’Alene High for 10 years and volunteered at North Idaho College.
In 1989, he founded the Iron Wood Throwing Camp, which has become one of the largest and most prestigious throwing camps in the U.S.
Rasmussen comes from a family heavily involved in both the community and athletics. Rasmussen graduated from Coeur d’Alene High in 1984 where he participated in three sports and was part of the 1982 football state championship team. He also was valedictorian and student body president at CHS. He continued his athletic career at the University of Montana in both football and track.
After earning his degree, Rasmussen remained active in athletics, serving as an official. He was elected to the North Idaho Officials Association’s Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2014, he joined the North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame Board of Directors and quickly became the chair. Under his leadership, the banquet has more than doubled in size, becoming one of the premier events in the state that honors both high school and college athletes, coaches and teams.
Rasmussen has been the Chief Executive Officer at Northwest Specialty Hospital since 2014. He joined the hospital two years early as Chief Financial Officer and facility compliance officer. Prior to that, he spent 25 years at L-P Corporation, working his way up from staff accountant to financial planning and analysis manager.
Rasmussen remains active in Kootenai County and has been honored by several organizations, including Coeur d’Alene’s Citizen of the Year in 2019 and Hayden Citizen of the Year in 2020. He also was named Volunteer of the Year by the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce in 2023. He belongs on numerous boards, including Rotary, Chamber, Boys and Girls Club and the Innovia Foundation.
Rasmussen's father, Gary, was a long-time coach at Clark Fork and Coeur d’Alene and was inducted into the North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014. Rick’s wife, Sharyl, was a state champion at CHS in basketball and softball, and their two daughters, Chelsey and Kylie, won state softball championships at CHS.
Iupati played at Idaho during 2006-09 and was a first-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers, where he played for five seasons. He also played four years with the Arizona Cardinals and finished with his 11-year career with Seattle.
Born and raised in Vaitogi, American Samoa, Iupati’s family moved to Garden Grove, Calif., right before he began high school in Anaheim. While he had an outstanding high school career, his academic record scared away most recruiters. However, Idaho assistant coach Johnny Nansen met Iupati at a recruiting event in California and he and then UI assistant coach Jason Eck eventually convinced Iupati to come to Idaho.
Iupati redshirted the 2005 season and then saw action as a backup in 2006. As a sophomore in 2007, he started all 12 games at guard, and then started eight games the following season, missing a few because of off-season shoulder surgery. Still, he earned second-team all-Western Athletic Conference honors. As a senior, he was named to the preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award. He started all 12 games at guard and in 807 snaps, he had 49 knockdowns, 21 pancakes and did not give up a quarterback sack. Idaho went on to have its first winning season in 10 years and capped it with a win over Bowling Green in the Humanitarian Bowl.
Iupati drew much pre-NFL draft praise and wound up being the 17th pick overall in the draft. Because of an injury in training camp to another player, Iupati moved into the starting lineup and was named to the All-Rookie Team. In 2012, he was named All-Pro and started in the Pro Bowl. He wound up playing in four Pro Bowls during his career.
Iupati retired from the NFL in 2021 and recently was named an assistant football coach at Washington State.
For more information on the North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame, the banquet or for banquet/table sponsorship, contact Ada Rouse at Ada.Rouse@nwsh.com or 208 699-7495.
Buchanan
Templeman
Rasmussen
Mike Iupati