Sackett Announces His Retirement

������������������ Cal Poly Pomona�s veteran coach will end long career at end of season��������

POMONA� -- Cal Poly Pomona�s longtime cross country and track and field coach Jim Sackett has announced his retirement, effective June 30.

����� Sackett, who will complete his 27^th year at Cal Poly Pomona, has been involved in coaching for 47 years and he has been a major contributor in the sports of cross country and track and field on a national level. He is a two-time NCAA Division II Men�s Cross Country Coach of the Year, earning the honors in 1983 and 1997 � both with the Broncos. While at Cal Poly Pomona, Sackett has hosted one national track and field championship in 2004, a pair of national cross country championships in 2000 and 2005 and five West Region cross country championships.������������������������������������

����� �It�s been a great experience,� Sackett said. �The best thing about it is when you see them walk across the stage with their diplomas. That�s what it�s all about. Most of these kids aren�t on scholarships, they are in the sport because they love it.�

����� Sackett enjoyed tremendous success at Cal Poly Pomona while turning the Broncos into a national cross country and track and field force. The Broncos captured the 1983 NCAA Division II men�s cross country championship in 1983 and were in the national top-five four times and the Top-10 seven times. The Broncos also captured five CCAA titles and qualified for the NCAA Championships the past four seasons, which equals the longest stretch in the program�s history.

����� Sackett, who also coached track and field at Western Illinois University for 11 years, has guided 12 national champions, 135 outdoor track and field All-Americans and 24 cross country All-Americans during his distinguished career. During a memorable span from 1996 to 1998, Sackett was named the United States Track Coaches� Association�s National Coach of the Year in men�s cross country in 1997, the USTCA�s Women�s Track and Field National Coach of the Year in 1997, the CCAA Coach of the Year in men�s cross country in 1996 and 1997, the CCAA Coach of the Year in women�s track and field in 1997 and 1998, the NCAA West Regional Coach of the Year in men�s cross country in 1996 and 1997 and the USTCA�s West Region Coach of the Year in women�s track and field in 1997 and 1998.

����� During the 2004 national track and field championships at Mt. San Antonio College and hosted by Cal Poly Pomona, Sackett was honored by the NCAA for his contributions to the sport.

����� In his career, Sackett hosted five national championships: three in track and field (two at Western Illinois and one at Cal Poly Pomona) and two in cross country (both at Cal Poly Pomona).

����� Sackett has been elected to the Drake Relay Coaches� Hall of Fame and also to the Western Illinois University Hall of Fame. He also served on the NCAA Track and Field sports committee for nine years, which was the longest tenure anyone ever had and he was presented with a distinguished service award for cross country and track and field by the Division II Coaches� Association.

����� �When you say, �Jim Sackett,� anyone and everyone across the country associated with cross country and track and field knows exactly what he has meant to thousands of student-athletes and the sports themselves,� Cal Poly Pomona Director of Athletics Brian Swanson said. �Jim has great passion for every student-athlete and everyone involved in these sports. He has made a lasting impact on the countless number of lives he has touched over his 47-year career. I wish Jim, Phyllis and their family nothing but the best.�

����� After graduating from Mankato State, Sackett began his coaching and teaching career at Leroy Ostrander High School in Leroy, Minnesota. He coached football, basketball and track and field and also started up the wrestling program. He then went to Washington State to get his Master�s degree, walked into the track coach�s office to inquire about helping out with the program and was told, �the freshmen are all yours.�

����� He went to Davis High School for two years where he was an assistant football coach and head track and field coach. While there, he started the Holden Relays, an annual event that still exists today.

����� Sackett went on to coach at Sacramento City College for five years, where he taught physical education and coached cross country and track and field. His teams won conference titles in cross country twice and track and field twice and one of his track teams finished second in the state in 1968. He coached four individual state champions.

����� He then made a big move, heading off to Western Illinois University, where he coached for 11 years. For the final five years there, he coached both cross country and track and field. He hosted national track and field championships twice and had a top-five national finish in cross country and three top-10 finishes in track and field.

����� Sackett came to Cal Poly Pomona in the fall of 1980 and has been a Bronco ever since.

����� �I loved it; that�s the hard part,� he said. �I�m not tired of coaching. I enjoy all the friends you meet, especially the coaching friends. It�s going to be different, but I look forward to being able to spend more time with my wife.�

����� A national search for Cal Poly Pomona will be conducted beginning in early spring, Swanson said.

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