Release Courtesy of USTFCCCA
NEW ORLEANS - As CSU Bakersfield's first and long-time coach, Charlie Craig set the bar high for future Roadrunner coaches. After a 31-year career at CSU Bakersfield and service as the Head Manager on the 2004 U.S. Men's Olympic Track & Field Team, Craig will need to make room in his trophy case for one more coaching award, as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced Craig as a member of its 2008 Class of inductees.
Joining Craig in the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame Class of 2008 are Kim Duyst, Mark Guthrie, Dean Hayes, Dave Murray, Gary Pepin, Peter Tegen, and Alex Wilson. The 2008 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is scheduled for December 17th, 2008 at the J.W. Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Arizona ? site of the 2008 USTFCCCA Convention.
“I am very pleased and humbled by the selection. To be selected by a committee that represents all the track and field and cross country coaches across the country is really an amazing honor. Looking back at all the great coaches that were past inductees makes this even more impressive. I am looking forward to the ceremony,” said Craig when notified of his induction.
Craig began his track and field career as a talented athlete in the sprints and jumps. He competed in the long jump, triple jump, 440-yard dash, 440-yard relay 880-yard relay, and mile relay at Fresno State University, where he also earned a master's degree. He later made the Olympic Trials finals in both 1964 and 1968 in the triple jump.
Craig's coaching career began as an assistant at University of California-Berkeley under fellow USTFCCCA Hall of Famer Sam Bell. In 1971, he accepted a job at CSU Bakersfield as an Educational Opportunity Program Director. One year later, Craig decided to start a track and field program with university students and local recruits, and the rest, as they say, is history. Building the program from scratch, he eventually coached a total of 195 All-Americans, 18 NCAA national champions, and two Olympic qualifiers. In 2002, Craig was named the NCAA Division II Track and Field Coach of the Year.
In addition to his coaching duties at CSU Bakersfield, Craig also served the sport in a number of national and international positions, including as a technical instructor in track and field to South Korean national teams in 1982, as manager of the U.S. team at the 1985 World University Games, and as manager of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Team. He also served as an assistant coach on the 1991 U.S. World Championships Team and on the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team.
A member of the Fresno State University Hall of Fame and the Bob Elias Hall of Fame, Craig now adds the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame honor to his long list of accomplishments.
