Ben Buck enters the 2026-27 season as the head coach of the Alaska Nanooks Nordic Ski Team after being officially named to the position following his tenure as interim head coach in 2025-26. Buck joined the Nanooks coaching staff as an assistant coach in 2022-23 and was elevated to interim head coach ahead of the 2025-26 season after three years of helping lead the program to new heights.
During his time at Alaska, Buck has helped guide the Nanooks to 19 individual NCAA All-American honors and four individual NCAA national championships. He has also worked with international teams as a coach and wax technician, supporting student-athletes competing on the World Cup circuit and at international championships.
Buck made an immediate impact in his first season at Alaska, helping the Nanooks earn a seventh-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Ski Championships, the best team finish in program history at the time. The men's Nordic team was the highest-scoring men's Nordic program at the championships, while the women's team placed third. Alaska finished as the third-best Nordic program overall with 268 points, and Joe Davies captured the national championship in the men's 10-kilometer freestyle. Buck also helped four student-athletes earn seven All-American honors that season.
In 2023-24, Buck helped the Nanooks earn three NCAA All-American honors while four Alaska student-athletes represented their home countries on the World Cup circuit: Mariel Pulles and Christopher Kalev for Estonia, Kendall Kramer for the United States and Rosie Fordham for Australia.
The 2024-25 season brought further success, with three student-athletes combining for five NCAA All-American performances. Kramer captured the NCAA national championship in the 20-kilometer freestyle and the U.S. national championship in the 20-kilometer classic, while Fordham earned a second-place finish in the 10-kilometer freestyle at the World Under-23 Championships.
2023-24
- Three NCAA All-American honors
- Four student athletes represented their home nations on the World Cup: Mariel Pulles (EST), Christopher Kalev (EST), Kendall Kramer (USA), Rosie Fordham (AUS)
2024-25
- Five NCAA All-American honors
- Kendall Kramer NCAA National Champion 20k Freestyle and US National Champion 20k Classic
- Rosie Fordham second at World U23 Championships 10k Freestyle
2025-26
- Promoted to Interim Head Coach
- Four NCAA All-American honors
- Rosie Fordham NCAA National Champion Classic and Freestyle
2026-27
- Promoted to full-time Head Coach
Beyond collegiate competition, Buck has contributed to international skiing as both a coach and wax technician. He served as head wax technician for Team Estonia at the 2023 World University Games in Lake Placid, New York, where Pulles earned four individual medals, including gold in the 15-kilometer freestyle and freestyle sprint. At the 2024 Minneapolis World Cup, Buck represented the U.S. Ski Team as a personal coach and wax technician for Kramer while also providing support for Fordham and the Australian national team.
Before joining Alaska, Buck spent the 2021-22 season on the coaching staff at Clarkson University, his alma mater. He competed for the Golden Knights' Nordic ski team from 2017-20 before transitioning into coaching.
