Thursday, March 28, 2024
Home » News » Latest Penn State News » Longtime Penn State Track & Field, Cross Country Coach Harry Groves Dies

Longtime Penn State Track & Field, Cross Country Coach Harry Groves Dies

no description

Harry Groves, the legendary track and field and cross country coach who led Penn State’s programs for 38 years, died on Sunday at the age of 89.

One of the most successful and influential coaches in the history of Penn State athletics, Groves was a five-time National Coach of the Year and 26-time Regional Coach of the Year during his tenure with the Nittany Lions from 1968 until his retirement 2006. He was inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2001.

‘Coach Groves was instrumental in the growth of not only Penn State track & field and cross country but the growth of our sport across the world,’ current Penn State cross country and track and field coach John Gondak said in a statement. ‘He impacted countless lives of student-athletes for over 50 years, 38 of those spent in Happy Valley. Coach’s influence will always be felt by me, personally, as well as the Penn State track & field/cross country family. His dedication to Penn State and our sport was inspiring and we cannot say thank you enough. Coach Groves will be deeply missed.’

Funeral arrangements had not yet been announced as of Tuesday morning.

A middle distance runner at Temple, Groves began his coaching career at Fort Eustis, Virginia, in 1953 and joined the staff at William & Mary in 1955. A year later he became head coach of the Tribe and spent the next 12 years in Williamsburg before taking the head coaching position at Penn State.

Over the next four decades, Groves, a straight shooter with a sharp sense of humor, became one of the most respected figures in track and field coaching, mentoring more than 200 All-Americans, 21 national champions, 14 Olympians, 11 American record holders, a Pan American champion and a world champion, among other successes.

He compiled a career dual meet record of 899-180-3, with 667 of those wins coming at Penn State, not to mention his teams’ numerous victories invitational and championship competitions.

His work went beyond State College and collegiate track. Groves was on the coaching staff for 12 U.S. track and field teams for international competition, including as assistant head coach of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Team.

Groves was head coach for five U.S. teams, including the 1989 and 1995 World Cup champion teams. 

The USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year Award is named in his honor, as is the annual Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational cross country meet hosted by Penn State.

‘Harry dedicated nearly 40 years of his life to Penn State as the head cross country and track & field coach and continued to be a fixture at the Multisport and outdoor track & field facilities for many years following his retirement,’ Penn State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Sandy Barbour said. ‘His tireless commitment to growing the sport of cross country and track & field will not be forgotten.

‘I got to know Harry well while working with him when we hosted NCAA Outdoor Championships in New Orleans [while Barbour was at Tulane]. He impacted the lives of so many student-athletes, community members and USA Track & Field participants throughout his career and his legacy will carry on through his influence on the sport.’