INDIANAPOLIS ? John McNichols, head coach of the Indiana State University men's track and field team and the head coach of the ISU cross country team, will be inducted into the Indiana Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2007 this Friday. The induction will take place at 7 p.m. Friday at the Sheraton Hotel at Keystone at the Crossing in Indianapolis.
“This is a great honor,” McNichols said. “I may have a hard time concentrating on the induction ceremony because the team will be in competition Friday. I will be in Indianapolis at the ceremony and they will be in Bloomington. I know they will compete hard and I know that they are happy for me and my family.”
The Sycamores will be competing in the Hoosier Relays at Indiana University in Bloomington on Friday and Saturday.
McNichols is in his 24th year as the Indiana State men's track and field and cross country coach and his 19th year as the coordinator of the Sycamores' combined men's and women's track and field and cross country programs.
During that time, ISU has won six Missouri Valley Conference outdoor track and field titles, five cross country titles including three straight (2004, 2005, 2006), and three Indiana Intercollegiate cross country titles. Under his leadership, the combined men's and women's programs have won 23 Missouri Valley Conference titles.
McNichols has been named MVC Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year seven times, NCAA District V Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year four times, and MVC Cross Country Coach of the Year four times.
In track and field, McNichols has coached 25 All-Americans, two NCAA National Champions and six runner-ups. Among his accomplishments in cross country was the design and development of the nation's finest cross country course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. The course served as the site for the 2002 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships and will host the championship through 2007. Additionally, the course has served as the host of four NCAA Great Lakes Regional and two Missouri Valley Conference championships.
McNichols serves as the Hurdles Broad Event Chair for the USATF Men's Development Committee, served as a meet official at the 1984 Olympic Games, 1987 Pan-American Games and the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials. He was head marshal for the 1996 Olympic Games.
The St. Charles, Iowa, native, graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor's degree in 1972 and his master's in 1977. Before coming to ISU in 1983, he was the head boys track and field coach at Bloomington North High School in Bloomington, Ind.
