Oct. 28, 2004

Oct. 28, 2004

BEAUMONT - Former Lamar track and field head coach Sonny Jolly will serve as an honorary meet referee at the 41st Annual Southland Conference Cross Country Championships at Idylwild Golf Club on Monday, Nov. 1, announced this week by athletic department officials.

Jolly, a 1995 inductee into the Lamar Hall of Honor and a 2001 inductee into the SLC Hall of Fame, served as the head coach of the LU track teams from 1971-1991 before handing the reigns to Barry Collins.

Regarded as the most successful track and field coach in school history, Jolly guided the men's and women's indoor, outdoor and cross country teams to a school record 22 conference championships, including 20 as a member of the Southland. He won nine consecutive men's outdoor titles (1978-1986), six straight men's indoor titles (1980-1985) and four consecutive men's cross country titles (1981-85).

In Lamar's history, only three other coaches have won league titles in any of the six areas of cross country and track and field. Legendary head coach Ty Terrell won a men's outdoor title in 1963 as a member of the Lone Star Conference, Carl Babcock earned an SLC men's outdoor title in 1971 and Collins won the women's outdoor title in 1992 as part of the Sun Belt Conference.

A nine-time Coach of the Year, Jolly coached 40 All-Americans, one NCAA National Champion and guided a pair of mile relay teams that claimed second place in the NCAA. In 1988, he served as the head coach of the U.S. National Team in a dual meet with Great Britain and he also served on the U.S. coaching staff at the 1991 Pan American Games.

After spending decades at Lamar as an athlete, a coach and five years as athletics director, Jolly currently serves the university as an instructor in the kinesiology department.

Monday's SLC Championship will feature men's and women's teams from all 11 league schools. The women's 6,000-meter race is slated to start at 9:30 a.m. and the men's 8K race will follow at 10:30 a.m.