Former USTFCCCA Director Jimmy Carnes Has Boulevard Dedicated in His Honor

THEGAINESVILLESPORTS COMMISSION

Presents

The Unveiling

COACH JIMMY CARNES BOULEVARD DEDICATION

(Gainesville, Florida.)  The Gainesville Sports Commission (GSC), family, friends, former athletes, fellow coaches and distinguished guests will honor celebrated Coach Jimmy Carnes with the unveiling of Coach Jimmy Carnes Boulevardon Saturday, August 18, 2012, on the campus of the University of Florida at the corner of Fraternity Drive and Southwest 23^rd Street.  The unveiling ceremony is at 11:00am, and is expected to last 45 minutes.  A reception will follow in the University Women’s Club by the Percy Beard Track and UF Basketball practice facilities.

On that Saturday, the Carnes family will be joined by friends, coaches, former Carnes era Gator athletes and members of the Florida Track Club.

The late Coach Carnes is theUniversityofFlorida’s highly decorated former Head Track & Field coach.  Coach Carnes passed away on March 5, 2011, after a three and a half year battle with cancer.  To say Carnes was a heralded coach is an understatement.  Carnes is a member of five different Halls of Fame.  He coached at theUniversityofFloridafrom 1964 to 1976.  He led the Gators to two Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships and 15 combined SEC Championship top-three finishes.  His dual meet record was an astonishing 93-3.  Carnes was the Assistant Coach of the USA Olympic Men’s Track & Field team that competed inMontrealin 1976 and Head Coach of the 1980 USA Olympic Men’s Track & Field Team that was forced to boycott the Moscow Games.

Coach Carnes also founded the Florida Track Club in 1965 that attracted such notable athletes such as Marty Liquori, Frank Shorter, Jack Bacheler and Jeff Galloway.  During the Carnes era, the Florida Track Club was considered one of the strongest in the country.

In addition to coaching, Carnes co-founded Athletic Attic one of the nation’s first stores that emphasized running shoes.  The first store opened at the very beginning of the nation’s running craze.  Athletic Attic had over 165 stores across the country and in three foreign countries.

Also, as head of Florida’s Governor’s Council on Sport and Physical Fitness, Carnes served as the first director of Florida’s Sunshine State Games, an Olympic-style event that has run continuously since its start in 1980 and now features more than 10,000 athletes.  He also establishedFlorida’s Senior Games, a multi-sport event for athletes 50 years and older.  He was instrumental in the founding of many of theFlorida’s 20+ sports commissions (Including the GSC) inFloridaand elsewhere.  Sports Commissions generally provide economic benefits, including tourism, from their support of competition, physical fitness and community quality of life.

Coach Carnes is survived by his wife, Nanette, three sons and a daughter.

For more coverage information, contact: Jack Hughes at The GSC.  352 338-9300 or [email protected].