Dennis Craddock - Track & Field Coach - University of North Carolina Athletics

Dennis Craddock

Title:
Head Coach, Director of Track & Field/XC

The list of North Carolina coaching luminaries is undeniably long and distinguished. But where does it begin? With Dean Smith, the legendary basketball mind who finished his career with two national championships and 879 wins, most ever by a Division I men's coach? With women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance, who has led the Carolina women's soccer team to a staggering 19 national championships in 28 years, a dominance arguably unsurpassed by any other collegiate sports program? Or maybe a logical place to start would be with the man whose teams have claimed the most Atlantic Coast Conference titles - more than any other coach in any sport - head track and field coach Dennis Craddock.

That's right, Craddock's teams have won a mind-blowing 45 ACC crowns, seven more than the Maryland track teams of the 50's and 60's under coaching great Jim Kehoe and, get this, 14 more than Smith and Dorrance combined.

In addition to his irrefutable team success, Craddock has coached a total of 25 individual Carolina athletes to an astounding 38 NCAA Championship performances. Other accolades include the 19 Olympians - with five gold and two bronze medals among them - who have reaped the benefits of his tutelage at North Carolina. For all this success, Craddock has understandably accrued awards too numerous to count, but his recognition as National Coach of the Year in 1995 for men's indoor track highlights his widespread acclaim.

The Carolina women's team has been especially dominant during Craddock's time in Chapel Hill. A mark of true excellence, the women have been remarkably consistent in their greatness: after recording a pair of runner-up finishes at the ACC Championships during the 1986-87 season, Carolina has failed to win an ACC Championship in just three academic years. In total, Carolina women's teams have racked up 17 top-10 finishes at NCAA Championships, most recently finishing fourth overall in the 2006 NCAA Indoor Championships, tied for its highest finish ever.

The accomplishments don't end there, though. No school other than Carolina has ever won the ACC Triple Crown - titles in cross country, indoor and outdoor during the same season. Under Craddock, the Tar Heel women have done it twice, first in 1994-95 and again in 2003-04. Both of those seasons produced multiple Olympians. The 94-95 squad featured LaTasha Colander and Monique Hennaga - both future Olympic gold medalists. The 03-04 unit was spearheaded by national champions Shalane Flanagan and Laura Gerraughty, both of whom competed in their first Olympics in 2004.

The Carolina men have also seen Craddock's aegis lead them to tremendous success, including an incredible 2006 season that saw Vikas Gowda and Justin Ryncavage both claim NCAA outdoor titles, in the discuss and javelin, respectively. Their winning efforts helped propel the Tar Heels to a ninth place finish overall, its third-highest finish ever. Ryncavage would post back-to-back javelin titles to improve upon the Tar Heels' ninth place finish with the second-highest in school history with a sixth place finish. Under Craddock, the North Carolina men have won six of their eight all-time ACC indoor and outdoor titles, including an indoor-outdoor sweep in 1995. That team featured Ken Harnden, the NCAA champion in the 400-meter hurdles and a two-time Olympian for Zimbabwe. Harnden was joined by Tony McCall, Henry McKoy and Milton Campbell that year to take the NCAA title in the indoor 1,600-meter relay.

That 94-95 season was truly one for the history books, as Carolina became the first school in history to win five ACC team titles in a single school year, failing to win only in men's cross country. The incredible season also featured 14 new school records, 30 ACC individual championships and an astounding 21 All-Americas.

Outside of competition, Craddock's reach has extended warmly to the local track and field community. He helped convince USA Track and Field officials to select Chapel Hill as the official training site for the U.S. Olympic team prior to the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, a testament to both his hard work and Carolina's top-notch facilities.

Prior to arriving in Chapel Hill, Craddock spent nine successful seasons as the head coach at the University of Virginia. His tenure there included back-to-back NCAA championships in women's cross country in 1981 and 1982, with a women's indoor national title sandwiched in between during the 1981 indoor season. He also led the Virginia women to three consecutive ACC outdoor titles from 1983-85. His men's teams posted four top-20 NCAA finishes under his guidance, with two coming from men's cross country.

A native of Gretna, Va., Craddock is a 1965 graduate of Ferrum College, where he played football and was named captain and MVP of the track and field team. After two years at Ferrum, Craddock earned his bachelor's degree at Lynchburg College. In 1988, he was inducted into the Lynchburg College Athletic Hall of Fame. Seven years later he became a member of the Ferrum College Sports Hall of Fame. He considers these two of his greatest honors. Craddock also earned a master's in education from the University of Virginia.

Before entering the world of collegiate track and field, Craddock spent eight years as the track coach at Gretna and Albemarle High School. His teams compiled a 117-8 dual meet record, won three state championships and also posted three runner-up finishes during his tenure. He also coached four individual national champions and three All-Americas.

Craddock is a frequent contributor to track and field clinics around the country. He is extremely active in promoting youth athletics through USA Track and Field and served as vice president on the Executive Committee of the U.S. Track Coaches Association. In 2004, Craddock was named an honorary meet referee at the Penn Relays in honor of the continued success of his athletes at the meet.

Craddock and his wife Faye have three children - Chris, who is married to Al Bozart; Carla, who is married to David Roberts; and Blake, who is married to Bridget O'Neal. The Craddocks have six grandchildren. Faye was a longtime receptionist in the UNC Athletic Department before retiring recently.