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Iowa State University Athletics
Bill Bergan Built a Dream Program at Iowa State
08.23.2006 | Track and Field, Cross Country (M) OLD, Track & Field (M)
AMES, Iowa - Former Iowa State track and field and cross country coach Bill Bergan will be inducted into the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame on Dec. 12 in San Antonio, Texas. Bergan led the Cyclone programs for nearly a quarter-century, and brought ISU to the top of both the Big Eight Conference and the nation.
Iowa State had finished in the bottom half of the Big Eight Conference meet for 11 consecutive years when Bill Bergan became the university's cross country coach in 1971. The men's track team had finished last or next to last in conference for 21 straight years. Three years after Bergan's arrival, Iowa State won its first Big Eight cross country title in 43 years.
In 1981, five years after Bergan assumed the duties of head track coach, the Cyclones won their first conference track championship in 36 years. When Bergan retired in 1995, he had guided Iowa State to 25 Big Eight conference team championships and two NCAA titles.Joining Bergan in this year's USTFCCCA Hall of Fame Class are Al Carius (North Central), John Coughlan (Illinois State), DeLoss Dodds (Kansas State), Bob Groseclose (Northeast Louisiana), Tom Heinonen (Oregon), Don Hood Sr. (Abilene Christian), Ted McLaughlin (Southern Methodist University), Bill Moultrie (Howard), Jack Pyrah (Villanova), Deb Vercauteren (Wisconsin Oshkosh) and Gary Wieneke (Illinois).
“I look at some of those other coaches and think, boy, I don't belong,” Bergan said.
The record book says otherwise, of course. Bergan turned a dormant program into a national power.
“He never quit working,” said Steve Lynn, Bergan's successor as Iowa State's track coach. “He had the philosophy that if he made anyone better, it made the whole team better. And he made the assistants feel that they were the head coaches of their areas.”
Bergan coached 16 Olympians from six different nations, including intermediate hurdler Danny Harris and distance runner Yobes Ondieki. Harris won a silver medal at the 1984 Olympics following his freshman year at Iowa State, and Ondieki won a world title in the 5,000-meter run for Kenya and set a world record in the 10,000 meters.
Iowa State won NCAA cross country titles in 1989 and 1994 and finished second in 1990 and 1991. John Nuttall (1989) and Jonah Koech (1990) won NCAA individual titles for the Cyclones.
“You're always shooting for championships, always trying to do better,” said Bergan, a Cedar Falls native. “The most rewarding part of coaching is helping young people fulfill their dreams. That gives you a real feeling of accomplishment.”
Bergan also built his own “Field of Dreams” ? the Iowa State cross country course that's considered one of the finest in the country. Iowa State played host to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in 1995, Bergan's final season as a coach, and again in 2000.
Since retiring from coaching, Bergan has been active in the Special Olympics. He and his wife, Karen, who have four children of their own, are the legal guardians of a 45-year-old man with special needs. Bergan also owns Championship Productions, a company that produces instructional books and videos.
For more information on the U.S. Track and Cross Country Coaches Association, see www.ustfccca.org.
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