Hall of Fame
A native of Elmhurst, Ill., John Coughlan is the most decorated track and field/cross country head coach in Redbird history, having guided the ISU men’s program for 23 seasons and the women’s squad for eight campaigns.
Retiring from Illinois State following the 2000 MVC Outdoor Championship, he led the ‘Birds to 25 conference championships and mentored 291 MVC individual champions.
A 24-time Valley Coach of the Year, he took district coach-of-the-year honors nine times and the 1995 national coach-of-the-year laurel.
On the national level, Coughlan shepherded 195 student-athletes to the NCAA Championships in 18 different track events, producing 37 All-Americans. Illinois State placed in the NCAA Championship top 25 on five occasions.
Coughlan served a four-year term as a member of the Executive Committee of the NCAA Division I Track Coaches Association.
He is a member of the Illinois State Athletics Hall of Fame (1993), the Drake Relays Hall of Fame (1997) and the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2006).