Frank Gramarosso always had an interest in coaching.
That interest developed into a passion, which beget a remarkable Hall-of-Fame career.
Gramarosso spent nearly four decades of his career at North Central College, where he started as a part-time assistant coach under fellow Hall-of-Famer Al Carius in 1983 (Carius was inducted in the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame in 2006). He shed the part-time label in 1985 and from there, history would be made in Naperville, Illinois.
Together, Carius and Gramarosso constructed an unparalleled collegiate dynasty, regardless of division and/or sport, over the next 37 years. As a program, the Cardinal men combined to win 25 NCAA team titles and 88 CCIW conference crowns, while athletes topped the NCAA podium 69 times following individual events and earned more than 500 All-America honors between cross country and both track & field seasons. Thirteen of those NCAA team titles came in cross country, where North Central finished first or second at the NCAA Championships 16 of 17 years between 1983-1999.
Gramarosso, himself, left an indelible mark on the program following his promotion to head coach of men’s track & field at the conclusion of a historic 2009-2010 academic year that saw the Cardinals complete the Triple Crown – consecutive titles in all three sports in the same academic year.
From 2010 until he retired following the 2022 outdoor season, Gramarosso’s teams captured five NCAA titles and amassed more than 200 All-America honors. Each of those titles were special in their own right: North Central swept the track & field slate clean in 2011 and then made it an indoor three-peat in 2012; then the Cardinals flew to national glory in 2017 and 2019, the first of which made them the first host of the NCAA DIII Indoor Championships to reign at the conclusion of the meet.
Gramarosso has been honored by the USTFCCCA numerous times. He is a five-time National Coach of the Year and a five-time Regional Coach of the Year. North Central has been named the Al Carius NCAA Division III Men’s Program of the Year four times under Gramarosso’s watch in 2011, 2012, 2018 and 2019.
