NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Wednesday the six coaches, who will be inducted into the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame as the Class of 2016. Among that group is former West Chester University track standout Marty Stern (WCU '59).
Terry Franson, Pat Healy, Mike Holloway, Bob Kitchens, Marty Stern, and Bubba Thornton will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame for not only their incredible and historic accomplishments as track & field and cross country coaches, but also the long-lasting impact their contributions have had and will continue to have on the sport.
These six were honored at the 2016 USTFCCCA Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Wed., December 14, at the USTFCCCA Convention in Orlando, Fla.
Started in 1995, the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame exists to recognize coaches who have brought great distinction to themselves, to their institutions and to the sports of cross country & track & field. Each of the honorees exemplifies the qualities of dedication to the sport, leadership and passion for their profession that serve as an inspiration to coaches everywhere in the sport.
Stern was a member of West Chester University's men's track & field teams in the late 1950s and was inducted into the WCU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006 for his prowess on the track as well as his collegiate and high school coaching career following his graduation from college.
Stern coached 145 All-Americans, 21 individual NCAA champions, 12 collegiate record holders, 22 Big East titles, 21 Penn Relay Championship of America titles, 12 world Records, eight American records, 13 Olympians, and four world champions.
Before he was Nova's "Uncle Marty," Stern headed a number of successful high school teams in the 1960s, the 1970s and into the 1980s, including stops at St. James High School, Malvern Preps, and Central Bucks High School. He spent two seasons at Delaware Valley College in 1982-83 before joining the Villanova staff for the 1983-84 academic year as a volunteer assistant coach under men's & women's head coach Charles Jenkins.
The following year, the decision was made for Jenkins to focus on exclusively coaching the men's program, opening the door for Stern to become the women's head coach. It didn't take long for his women to make an impact on the national stage.
His 4×800 relay women won the NCAA Indoor title in 1985, kicking off a streak of success on the track that resulted in 19 national event titles over the next decade. With the exception of 1986, the Wildcat women brought home at least one national title each year from 1985 through 1994.
Behind a pair of indoor national titles in 1987 from the 4×800 relay and Vicki Huber at 3000 meters, Stern's women finished third overall to set into motion a string of eight consecutive top-10 finishes at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Huber and the 4×8 were the cornerstones of Stern's teams in 1988 and 1989 that finished as runners-up. Huber was particularly dominant, winning the mile and 3000 titles in '88 – and eventually finishing sixth at the Seoul Olympics over 3000 meters as Nova's first-ever female Olympian – and the 3000 title for a third time in '89. She matched that outdoors with three consecutive titles over that distance from 1987 through 1989.
Those two years set the stage for the capstone of Stern's career at Villanova: the five-year reign of the Wildcat women over NCAA cross country from 1989 through 1993. Five consecutive national team titles, five consecutive individual national titles, and three of the biggest wins in meet history. No other team has won more than three consecutive national titles, and no other school has accounted for more than three consecutive individual national champions.
