Florida Gators

NEW ORLEANS – University of Florida track and field and cross country head coach Mike Holloway is headed to the Hall of Fame, as announced Wednesday (August 3) afternoon by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
 
Holloway is one of six men composing the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame Class of 2016. The group will be honored at the 2016 USTFCCCA Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Wednesday, December 14, as part of the USTFCCCA Convention in Orlando, Fla.
 
"It's just an incredible honor and something I never considered that might happen, not only when I started my coaching career but this far along in it," Holloway said. "When I opened up the letter and saw my name, it was an overwhelming feeling. It means a lot to me. I'm grateful to be able to build upon a legacy that I already started and share all of this, not only with my former athletes, but current and future ones."
 
Holloway has been head coach of the men's team since 2003, and took over the women's team in 2008, when Florida became a combined program.
 
Here's a look at some of the astonishing success the Gators are enjoying with Holloway as their head coach:

• 6 men's NCAA Championships (indoor: 2010, 2011, 2012; outdoor: 2012, 2013, 2016)—most in the country since 2010
• 17 top-two finishes in 28 men's NCAA Championships appearances
• 15 top-three finishes in the last 16 men's NCAA Championships appearances, including eight in a row outdoors
• Nine Southeastern Conference titles (track and field)
• 2012 women's SEC Cross Country Championship title
• 52 individual men's and women's national champions (does not include five he coached as men's assistant coach/associate head coach)
• 145 individual men's and women's SEC champions (does not include 13 he coached as men's assistant coach/associate head coach)
• 559 men's and women's USTFCCCA All-America honors (does not include 76 honors earned as an assistant/associate head coach)
• Four USTFCCCA Cross Country All-America honors

Of the 79 school record holders (including ties) in events currently contested at NCAA Championships, 54 of them wore the Orange and Blue during Holloway's time as head coach or were sprinters or hurdlers he oversaw during his time as an assistant coach and associate head coach with the program.
 
International success at the highest level has been deeply engrained into Florida's tradition during Holloway's tenure as well.
 
In addition to serving as the United States' sprints and relays coach for the 2012 Summer Olympics, Holloway was the head coach of Team USA at the 2013 IAAF World Championships.
 
At least eight Gators have competed at each of the last three Summer Olympiads, and a program-record 12 Gators are traveling to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympic Games.
 
Below is a breakdown of the international achievements by Gators from the Holloway era:

• Four Olympic gold medalists (includes 1988 alum Dennis Mitchell, who was coached by Holloway at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics)
• 11 total Olympic medals (seven coached directly by Holloway, including Mitchell)
• Eight World Championships gold medals by Holloway-coached sprinters and hurdlers
• World indoor 400 meters record held by Kerron Clement, who ran 44.57 at the 2005 NCAA Championships to break Michael Johnson's 10-year-old record

Prior to becoming head coach, Holloway was an assistant coach (1996-99) and associate head coach (2000-02) for the UF men's team. During this time, Holloway coached five individual national champions and helped the Gators amass 76 All-America accolades.
 
He also spent two years as a graduate assistant with the UF women's team from 1986-87. With his guidance, the Gators' 4x800 relay team of Sandra and Sonja Braasch, Chris Crowther, and Susan Nash to a world-record time of 8:29.35 and a U.S. National indoor title.
 
Before arriving at UF, Holloway was an assistant coach at Gainesville High School (1983-84) and the head coach at nearby Buchholz High School (1985-95). During his decade at Buchholz, the Bobcats won eight track and field and cross country team state titles.
 
The USTFCCCA's complete release announcing the Coaches Hall of Fame Class of 2016 can be found here.
 
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