Doris Brown Heritage Announced as New Namesake for NCAA DII Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year
NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association is proud to announce former Seattle Pacific standout and USTFCCCA Hall of Fame member Doris Brown Heritage as the namesake for the NCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year Award.
Effective this current 2016 season, the Doris Brown Heritage Women’s Athlete of the Year Award will annually honor the most outstanding female runner in NCAA Division II Cross Country. The NCAA Division II Cross Country Women’s Athlete of the Year award has been administered by the USTFCCCA since the association’s formation in 2005.
“Doris Brown Heritage is a pioneering trailblazer in women’s distance running history who led the charge to create opportunities for all female athletes – not just runners – to compete in athletics,” USTFCCCA CEO Sam Seemes said. “With all of her athletic achievements and with all of her success as a coach, I cannot possibly think of a better namesake for this honor to be bestowed upon the exceptional female athletes who are following in her footsteps.”
Over the last 50 years, Heritage has been a pioneer for the sport, a competitor without peer, and later, coach to some of the greatest collegians on record. Further, she is considered one of the Northwest’s greatest personalities of the 20th century by both Sports Illustrated and The Seattle Times.
During the 1960s and 1970s, she set the standard for women’s distance standouts of today. Under the direction of Ken Foreman, the then-Doris Brown set two American records before graduating from SPU in 1964. Eventually, she owned every national and world record from 440 yards up to the mile. And the longer the distance, the more dominant she became. From 1967-71, Heritage won an unprecedented five consecutive world cross country championships and raced on nine U.S. teams.
As her competitive career drew to a close, she became increasingly involved in coaching. Although Heritage received several national and international appointments, her greatest commitment was to her SPU programs, and that commitment is evident in the Falcons’ achievements during her tenure.
Ten of her cross country teams have placed in the top ten at national meets, and Seattle Pacific won the conference women’s championships eight times in 13 years. In 1996, SPU was the West Region women’s champion. Twenty harriers have earned All-America status, including two national champions.
The Doris Brown Heritage Women’s Athlete of the Year Award is one of four newly named national awards for NCAA Division II Cross Country: