Wayne Anderson was the premier placekicker in the Ohio Valley Conference during his Golden Eagle playing career from 1977 to 1980, earning three all-OVC honors and culminating in his selection as 1980 All-America. He led Tech in scoring all four seasons and when he finished his career he ranked third all-time in scoring at Tech with 180 points, and held an NCAA Division I-AA record for consecutive field goals.

Born in Toronto and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Anderson learned to love the art of kicking from watching the Kansas City Chiefs’ Jan Stenerud in games on TV. He would eventually end up on the same NFL playing fields, spending two years on the Buffalo Bills’ roster.

During the recruiting process, Anderson considered Florida State, among other schools, before settling on Tennessee Tech where he was one of the most accurate kickers in league history.

As a freshman, Anderson set an OVC record by converting 42-of-44 PAT attempts, helping Coach Don Wade’s team post a 5-2 record. Replacing legendary Murray Cunningham (who preceded him into the Hall of Fame), Anderson made 5-of-7 field goals for 57 total points, the most ever by a Tech freshman. His 37 consecutive successful PAT kicks tied the OVC record, and his nine PATs in one game set the OVC record.

He scored 51 points in his sophomore season, making 21-of-23 PATs and kicking 10-of-13 field goals through the uprights, and as a junior was 11-for-12 on PATs and 4-of-9 on field goal tries.

As a senior, Wayne converted 13-of-14 PAT tries, and was successful on 12-of-13 field goal attempts. He made the first 11 field goals of the year, setting a I-AA record for consecutive made field goals. The streak ended with a missed 43-yarder at Eastern Kentucky. During the 1980 season, he set two OVC records with most points kicking in one game (14), and most field goals in one game (4).

In his four years, Anderson made 93.5 percent (87-for-93) of his PAT tries, and 73.8 percent (31-for-42) of his field goal attempts. He held I-AA records for the highest percent of field goals made over 40 yards for a single season and career, and had the mark for the most successful field goal tries in a season (12-for-13).

Anderson received his bachelor’s degree in 1983 in Health Education.