Butler’s Phillips First Three-Time NCAA Winner
Name a miler who became an elite quarter-miler.
Kudos if you included Hermon Phillips, whose three 440-yard titles at the NCAA Championships from 1925-27 made him the meet’s first three-time winner in any event.
Phillips was a four-time Indiana high school state mile champion from Rushville, who entered Butler University in nearby Indianapolis. He had also won the 1923 national interscholastic mile in a meet record 4:30.6.
To say Phillips made an immediate impact for the Bulldogs would be an understatement. As a freshman in 1924, he defeated seven-time national AAU mile champ Joie Ray in an indoor 880-yard race and was named captain of the Butler track & field team for his efforts.
By 1925, Phillips displayed the range that made him a feared prep athlete as a 14-year-old, where he would be older runners in almost any event. At the Drake Relays that year, Phillips was part of three Bulldog relay teams that set meet records and then became the program’s first NCAA champion by winning the 440, about an hour before teammate Glen Gray won the 220.
Phillips continued his winning ways at the NCAA Championships in 1926 and 1927 with record-setting performances. In the former, Phillips clocked a time of 48.7, bettering the meet record of 49.0 set by Olympian Frank Shea of Pittsburgh in the inaugural NCAA Championships in 1921. The following year, Phillips lowered his meet record to 48.5 to win his third-straight crown.
Only Morgan State’s George Rhoden (1950-52) and UTEP’s Bert Cameron (1980-81, 1983) have as many NCAA wins as Phillips among men in the 400/440.
Phillips made the 1928 Olympic team, finishing sixth after equaling the world record of 47.4 earlier in the year. Upon his return from the Olympics, Butler hired Phillips to be its new coach. During his 19-year tenure, he coached Butler’s only other men’s NCAA track & field champions (besides him and Gray) – Joe Sivak in the 1930 mile and Bert Nelson in the 1932 high jump.
The NCAA and collegiate track & field will mark a momentous milestone in the spring of 2021 -- the 100th anniversary of the NCAA Championships and with that, the NCAA Track & Field Championships. In June 1921, the University of Chicago hosted the first track & field championships in NCAA history.
This point can’t be emphasized enough: Not only was the event the first for NCAA track & field, but the first championships for any sport under the sponsorship of the NCAA.
To celebrate, over each of the next 365 days, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) will celebrate moments, student-athletes, and coaches that have made a century’s worth of championships special. From humble beginnings to important historical milestones to the modern-day, collegiate track & field has evolved with the American society.
The 2021 edition of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships begin with preliminary round action on May 27-29 in Jacksonville, Fla., and College Station, Texas. The championships final site and culmination of the celebration is slated for June 9-12, 2021 at the newly rebuilt Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Mikkola Set Javelin MR With Huge Win
Esko Mikkola was a two-time JT winner at the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships. When Mikkola won in 1998, he set a MR of 81.86m (268‑7) and won by 17 feet!
Little Made Big 400H History
Shamier Little won three consecutive 400H titles at the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships between 2014 & 2016. Little became the No. 2 performer in collegiate history with her 53.51 winner in 2016.
Comenentia Completed Historic Double In 2018
Denzel Comenentia became only the third man in the history of the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships to complete the HT-SP double back in 2018.
Ellerbe Won After Film Review In 1939
Mozelle Ellerbe won back-to-back 100-yard dash titles at the NCAA Outdoor T&F Championships in 1938 & 1939. His victory in the 2nd year was confirmed by a film review.
Saunders Won Back-To-Back SP Titles, Set CR
Raven Saunders won back-to-back SP titles at the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships in 2015 & 2016. Saunders set a CR & MR of 19.33m (63-5) in that second year.
McCullouch Ran Legendary Times At NCAAs
Earl McCullouch of Southern California won back-to-back 120H titles at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships and was a member of a WR-setting quarter-mile relay team.
Hook ‘Em, Leo: Manzano Made 1500 History
Leo Manzano was the first male freshman in the history of the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships to win the 1500/mile in 2005. Manzano added a 2nd title to his haul in 2008.
Walton Started It All In The 800
Delisa Walton won the first women’s 800 at the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships in 1982. Walton is the mother of Ebonie Floyd, who finished 2nd in the 2007 100.
Rupp Capped Sensational Senior Year In 2009
Galen Rupp completed an unprecedented year at the 2009 NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships when he swept the 5K & 10K.
Gipson, Ugen Made Long Jump History
Whitney Gipson & Lorraine Ugen were the first teammates to win women’s long jump titles at the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships in consecutive years (Gipson in 2012; Ugen in 2013).