Tim Bunton was named Athletic Director/Head Baseball Coach during the 2006-2007 school year after serving as an Assistant Athletic Director for eight years prior. He stepped down from the baseball position following the shortened 2020 campaign and now serves as the Director of Athletics. Four teams have qualified to compete for national championships since 2020 as well as individuals from golf and cross country. Three teams (men's basketball, women's basketball, softball) from 2022-2023 all earned a trip to their respective national tournaments and all finished the year in the top ten in the nation.
Bunton came to Danville Area Community College in May of 1995 from Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. He was asked to revive a baseball program that had been extinct for fourteen years. His first year squad of 1996 finished with an overall record of 14-29 but that group of young men also laid the foundation of a very consistent and competitive program. The Jaguars finished the 1997 season with an overall record of 30-26 and a spot in the Region 24 championship. The 1999 team won the Region 24 championship with an overall record of 38-15 and that began a stretch of 18 winning seasons until Bunton stepped down in 2020, averaging 31 wins during that stretch. The baseball program under Bunton finished with 672 wins in his 24 year tenure. Bunton had 210 sophomores in his twenty-four years and 182 of those sophomores continued their education past Danville Area Community College. There were two conference championships, one region championship, a National Player of the Year, five Gold Glove winners, seven NJCAA All-Americans, twenty-eight NJCAA Academic Award Winners, ten professional players, seventy-nine All-Conference selections, and fifty-five All-Region 24 selections.
Bunton served as an assistant coach at Missouri State University from 1991-1995. He worked primarily with the infielders and had other game, practice, and administrative duties within the program. The 1995 Bears team earned an at large bid to the NCAA Division I West Regional in Fresno, California. He also managed the Danville Dans of the Central Illlnois Collegiate League (Prospect League) for seven summers from 1993-1999. The Dans played for the league championship every year that Bunton was there and the 1994 team was the first in CICL history to win the first half, second half, overall, and tournament championships. He managed twenty-five players that went on to compete professionally, with six playing in the Major Leagues. Bunton stepped down from the Dans after the 1999 season and then served as the CICL Commissioner for two summers.
Bunton was a four-year letterman at Missouri State from 1986-1990 and graduated with a degree in history. He finished his playing days in 1990 as the Bears' second baseman and team captain, where he hit .308 with 31 RBI. He played on three Mid-Continent Conference championship teams and was a member of the 1987 squad, which was the first ever Missouri State team to compete in the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. The Bears played in the West II Regional at Arizona State University.
Tim is married to MaryEllen and they have two adult boys, Andy and Joey.
