Bob Tracy (2015) - Hall of Fame - St. Cloud State University Athletics

Bob Tracy

Induction:
2015

The late Bob Tracy started the men's cross country program at St. Cloud State in 1964 and was head coach of the harriers from 1964 to 1967. From 1963 to 1968 he was the Huskies head track and field coach and in 1963 served as an assistant football coach. His cross country teams progressed from a sixth place NAIA National finish in 1966 to a second place NAIA finish in 1967. In addition he coached the 1967 and 1968 cross country teams to the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (NIC) team titles as well as the track and field conference championship titles those same years. He coached six NAIA All-Americans in cross country and eight in track and field during his tenure with the Huskies. Tracy also had success as the head USA track coach leading the team on a tour of Mexico and South America in 1967, winning all the meets on the tour. He was an assistant at the 1968 Track Olympic Training Camp for the Mexico City Games and coached three Huskies athletes, Jeff Renneberg, Jerry Dirkes and Van Nelson, at the 1968 Olympic Trials. Van Nelson, a member of the Huskies Athletic Hall of Fame, went on to compete in the 10,000 meters at the 1968 Olympics, set a world record in the 30,000 meters and won two gold medals at the 1967 Pan American games. From 1968 to 1971, Tracy was a consultant in track and field at the University of Minnesota while working on his doctorate degree. He finished his coaching career at the University of Hawaii where he was the head men's track and field coach from 1971 until his retirement in 1985.