Cross Country Head Coach Mark Stanforth Announces Retirement
5/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
May 4, 2007
"I've been involved in athletics virtually year round either as a competitor or as a coach for nearly 45 years. When I look ahead to next year, I'm not sure that I have the passion and commitment that it takes to coach both the men and the women in cross country and track and field. If you have those reservations, then it is time to go," said Stanforth.
The highlights for the men's cross country program during Stanforth's 15 years include three top-16 NCAA finishes between 2000 and 2004, topped by an eighth-place finish in 2003. When the Falcons qualified for the NCAA Division I championship in 2000, it marked a unique coaching distinction for Stanforth - his teams had qualified for the national cross country championship in every collegiate division: NJCAA, NAIA, NCAA Divisions I, II and III. The Falcons won three conference championships, were conference runners-up six times and finished outside the top three only once in that 15 year span. Stanforth was selected by his peers as the conference coach of the year four times.
Stanforth led the women's cross country team during their transition from NCAA Division II to Division I. In his first four years, the Falcon women competed in Division II and qualified for the NCAA championships each year with program-high finishes of sixth place in both 1992 and 1995. In 1996, the Academy women's programs moved to Division I. In 1999, the Falcons started a string of five consecutive third-place MWC conference finishes, the only upper division finishes by any Falcon women's program in Division I.
Individually, athletes with whom Stanforth worked with earned All-America honors 10 times in track and field and six times in cross country. He coached 26 individual conference champions on the track and one in cross country. His teams also earned national all-academic honors nine times.
"I'm proud of the fact that I've never compromised my personal philosophy that athletics are a part of education and that the lessons that can be learned through athletics are not all about how fast you run. The reason that we've had some success at every level is because we've had people who were willing to do what it takes to be outstanding in all areas. I will miss the daily interaction with quality young people of that type," stated Stanforth, when reflecting on what he will miss about coaching.
Prior to coaching at the Academy, Stanforth coached one year at his alma mater, the University of South Dakota/Springfield, seven years at Glendale (Ariz.) Community College and five years at the University of California, San Diego, in addition to one year as a graduate assistant at Northern State (S.D.) University.
Stanforth and his wife, Pat, plan to remain in
