OT: Ho-hum, more Big East championship trophies
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diggerfoot
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I have not followed track and field outside of a small window in time. Did not Villanova use to be a powerhouse in the sport? Thanks for the responses.
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Apparently, the UConn women's team as a whole would actually do quite well in a single-elimination tournament like NCAA basketball that involved entire teams. Like sweet 16 every year good. What they lack are the stars and superstars to compete at the mass events that determine national championships in track & field.
Wikipedia likely would have it most accurately, but, yes, for a period of 20+ years, under the legendary coach Jumbo Elliot, they totally dominated the sport. They are still pretty decent but the age of high donor fueled programs, e.g. Oregon, has changed all that. Back when I was at VU (graduated in '63), they had had 7 Olympians - I don't think that has ever since been done since in a compressed time period. They had the world record holders in the 100 -Frank Budd (who subsequently had a very short stunt with the Phila Eagles), the 220 - Paul Drayton. Thy had the country's best 4x440. They had a string of imported Irish milers starting with Olympian Ron Delaney. As I recall they also had Olympians in pole vault (Don Bragg ?), high jump, and shot put (a 255 lbs football fullback named Billy Joe - he was at the last reunion that I attended). I never recall them ever losing a dual (2 team) meet but, interestingly, one of teams who most closely contended with them was the Quantico Marines, VA (must have been where track talented draftees got collected. I think if you Wikipedia "Jumbo Elliot" you'd get all this, more accurately.
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If I were more energetic (and didn't have other obligations) I would do the research but I suspect a number of SEC schools have matched that type of number. Those schools are a minor league for Olympic track and field athletes with a number of nations sending their best. Houston and Texas Tech as well.
But still quite impressive on Villanova's part.
Wikipedia: From 1949, when he took over at Villanova, until his death in 1981, Elliott achieved a coaching record that will be hard to duplicate. During that span, his teams won eight national collegiate team titles, three National AAU team crowns, and 39 IC4A indoor, outdoor and cross country championships. Individually, his athletes won 316 IC4A titles, 82 NCAA crowns and 62 National AAU championships. They set 22 world records outdoors and another 44 indoors. His Olympic gold medalists were Ron Delany in the 1956 1500m, Charles Jenkins in the 400, also in 1956, Don Bragg in the 1960 pole vault, Paul Drayton in the 1964 4x100m relay and Larry James in the 1968 4x400m relay. He is best known for developing outstanding distance runners, including Delaney, Marty Liquori, Eamonn Coghlan, and Sydney Maree.
For certain, back in the hay days of mid-fiftys thru mid sixtys, that I experienced, there was no single SEC team that would want any part of Villanova. Imagine trying to prep your team for a dual meet with VU. Well, in the 100 you will be up against the world record holder, in the 220 you will be up against the world record holder, in the 440 you will be up against an Olympic gold medalist, etc., etc. I remember in one particularly competitive 4X440 mile relay where VU was down a man but talked their world record holder in the 220, Drayton, into running the anchor leg of the 440; when he took the baton a couple steps behind it looked like he was shot out of a gun to easily overtake the lead and managed to hold it for the full 440. I recall a dual meet mile where VU had 4 runners all resting at the back of the pack with their best runner actually last and it was getting late. Then the last place guy takes off and slaps the next to last guy in the butt as he blows by, and that signal gets repeated in turn as all 4 VU runners pull out to finish 1.2.3.4 by a wide margin. I never saw them lose a meet when I was there. But that was then, and this is now - congratulations to the new top dog Huskies