June 4, 2012
Click here for a list of ASU's individual national champions by sport
Click here for a list of ASU's individual national champions by year
With the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships set to begin this week, it is only fitting to take a moment to look over the career of Arizona State head coach Greg Kraft and the success he has had during his tenure at the helm of the Sun Devil program.
Kraft began his time at ASU at the start of the 1996-97, taking over a program with extremely limited scholarships and turning it into a national staple within just a couple years on the job. On the men’s side, the Sun Devils went from not posting a top-15 finish outdoors in 15 years to doing so in just his fifth year at the helm with his first full recruiting class and a 15th-place finish at the 2001 NCAA Championships. Indoors, his turnaround time was even quicker, taking a team that had never finished in the top 15 in school history to on that finishing 11th in 1999 (his third year) and 10th in 2000.
The women’s turnaround was perhaps even more impressive as Kraft took the program to its first national title with the team’s victory at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships and followed that up in taking the 2007 outdoor crown as well. And – just for good measure – Kraft led the team to the 2008 NCAA Indoor title, where the ASU men joined them on the podium as the Sun Devils became just the second program in NCAA history to sweep the NCAA Indoor Championships.
During his time, Kraft has been named as the USTFCCCA National Coach of the Year four times while being named the USTFCCCA's Regional Coach of the Year 10 times, including this past indoor season.
Since Kraft began his tenure at ASU, the Sun Devils have posted 12 trophy finishes (top four at NCAA Meet) amongst the track and cross country programs. To put that into perspective, the Sun Devils had just seven combined in school history prior to Kraft’s arrival. Individually, 26 Sun Devils have earned national titles during Kraft’s reign – exactly half of ASU’s total 52 individual championships. Kraft will have a chance to add to that number with three Sun Devils set to head into Des Moines amongst the favorites in Jordan Clarke, the returning NCAA outdoor and indoor champion in the shot put; Chris Benard, the nation’s top-ranked triple jumper; and Anna Jelmini, the nation’s top-returning discus thrower.
The Sun Devils are set to begin competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships beginning June 6 in Des Moines, Iowa. A complete preview and meet notes will be available later today at www.TheSunDevils.com.
KRAFTING NATIONAL TITLES
Greg Kraft is one of just five Sun Devil coaches in ASU history to have won multiple NCAA Championships during his tenure. Kraft's four rings came in 2008 (indoor teams won both the men's and women's) and 2007 (women both indoor and outdoor). He joins current softball coach Clint Myers, Linda Vollstedt (women's golf and baseball mentors Bobby Winkles and Jim Brock as ASU coaches with multiple NCAA titles. Vollstedt led the women’s golf team to six NCAA titles (1998, 1997, 1995, 1994, 1993 and 1990). Winkles won baseball titles in 1969, 1967 and 1965 while Brock earned titles in 1981 and 1977. Myers won his first title in 2008 and added another one in 2011.
A STORIED TENURE
Nearly as impressive as Kraft’s success at the helm of the ASU program is the longevity in which he has done so. Kraft is completing his 16th year as head coach of the Sun Devils, which currently places him as the third-longest tenured current coach at Arizona State behind only John Spini (gymnastics/32 years) and Sheila McInerney (tennis/28 years).
Arizona State 2011-12 HEAD COACHES
John Spini, Gymnastics/32nd Year (August 16, 1980)
Sheila McInerney, Women's Tennis/28th Year (August 16, 1984)
Greg Kraft, Track & Field/16th Year (hired July 28, 1996)
Charli Turner Thorne, Women's Basketball/15th Year (July 1, 1996)
Mark Bradshaw, Diving/15th Year (hired July 30, 1997)
Greg Kraft – BY THE NUMBERS
| Athletic Honors | M | W |
| NCAA Champions (Team) | 1 | 3 |
| NCAA Champions (Individual) | 12 | 14 |
| NCAA All-Americans - TF (Individual) | 80 | 91 |
| NCAA All-Americans - TF (Relay) | 15 | 10 |
| NCAA All-Americans - XC | 5 | 11 |
| NCAA West Region Titles (Team) | 1 | 4 |
| NCAA West Region Titles (Individual) | 7 | 15 |
| NCAA West Region Titles (Relay) | 4 | 6 |
| Pac-12 Champions (Team) | 0 | 3 |
| Pac-12 Champions (Individual) | 30 | 41 |
| Pac-12 Champions (Relay) | 12 | 4 |
| Pac-12 Champions (XC Individ.) | 0 | 1 |
| MPSF Indoor Titles (Team) | 1 | 2 |
| MPSF Indoor Titles (Individual) | 24 | 33 |
| MPSF Indoor Titles (Relay) | 5 | 6 |
| Academic Honors | M | W |
| CoSIDA Academic All-Americans (TF) | 5 | 7 |
| CoSIDA Academic All-Americans (XC) | 1 | 1 |
| CoSIDA Academic All-Region VIII (XC/TF) | 16 | 22 |
| USTFCCCA All-Academic (T&F) | 26 | 52 |
| USTFCCCA All-Academic (XC) | 2 | 5 |
| USTFCCCA Scholar-Athlete of the Year | 3 | 3 |
| USTFCCCA Academic Team of the Year | 1 | 2 |
| Academic All-Pac-10 (TF - 1st/2nd Tm) | 80 | 84 |
| Academic All-Pac-10 (XC - 1st/2nd Tm) | 48 | 37 |
| Coach of the Year Honors | ||
| USTFCCCA National Women’s (Out) | ‘07 | |
| USTFCCCA National Women’s (In) | ‘07, ‘08 | |
| USTFCCCA National Men’s (In) | ‘08 | |
| USTFCCCA Region Women’s (Out) | ‘96, ‘06, ‘07, ‘08 | |
| USTFCCCA Region Women’s (In) | ‘07. ‘08 | |
| USTFCCCA Region Men’s (In) | ‘08, ‘10, '12 | |
| USTFCCCA District Women’s (Out) | ‘06, ‘07 | |
| Pac-12 Conference (women) | ‘06, ‘07, ‘08 | |
| Southeastern Conference (women) | ‘96 | |
| MPSF Indoor (women) | ‘07, ‘08 | |
| MPSF Indoor (men) | ‘12 | |