Wolfpack Head Coach Rollie Geiger to be Honored at USTFCCCA Hall of Fame Ceremony
12/16/2019 1:22:00 PM | Track, Cross Country
RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State director of track and field and head men's cross country coach Rollie Geiger will be officially inducted as part of the 2019 USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame Class Tuesday evening. The ceremony will take place in the form of a reception/dinner as part of the USTFCCCA Convention at the Grande Lakes Resort in Orlando, Fla.
Geiger is the first Wolfpack head coach to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, which was started in 1995. The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association recognizes coaches who have brought great distinction to themselves, their institutions and the sports of cross country and track and field. Geiger will be honored alongside five other coaches for exemplifying leadership, dedication and passion for the profession.
During Geiger's remarkable tenure as a head and assistant coach for NC State's cross country teams, the Wolfpack has built a tradition matched by few programs nationally. NC State's men's and women's cross country squads have combined to win 34 Atlantic Coast Conference team championships and 21 individual ACC titles since he joined the Wolfpack staff in 1979.
He has coached a total of four distance runners to wins at the NCAA Championships – Betty Springs (1981 cross country, 1983 cross country), Suzie Tuffey (1985 cross country), Laurie Henes (1991 outdoor 5,0000m) and Kristin Price (2002 outdoor 10,000m). Tyrell Taitt (1993 outdoor triple jump) and the Pack's relay quartet of Auguston Young, Alston Glenn, Danny Peebles and Harvey McSwain (1985 outdoor 4x100) have also claimed national titles during Geiger's tenure as head coach.
Geiger turned the NC State women's cross country team over to Laurie Henes in 2006, but not before he coached his women's teams to 15 top-10 finishes at the AIAW or NCAA Championships and to national titles in 1979 and 1980. The women won seven-consecutive ACC championships from 1987-1993 and claimed 20 of 26 ACC titles from the time women's cross country was added as a championship sport in 1978 until Geiger handed the reins over to Henes. His Wolfpack women made more appearances at the NCAA Championships than any other women's program in meet history.
On the men's side, the Pack has won 15 ACC team titles under Geiger's leadership, with the latest coming in 2011. At the national level, Geiger's men's teams have earned 10 national top-10 finishes and most recently finished 11th in 2018 for the team's best national finish since 2011. NC State's highest men's finish under Geiger came in 1999 when NC State placed third at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Geiger is a 28-time ACC Cross Country Coach of the Year. He is also a seven-time NCAA Southeast Regional Coach of the Year honoree, an award that he most recently won in 2018 after leading NC State's men to their second regional title in three years.
After serving as distance coach for the track and field teams from 1979-1984, Geiger was elevated to head coach at the beginning of the 1984-1985 academic year. His men's squads have won eight ACC team titles during his tenure, and Geiger has been honored as ACC Track & Field Coach of the Year a total of six times during his career.
He has played a role in coaching 247 All-America selections and 714 All-ACC performers between both cross country and track and field.
In addition to his teams' athletic successes, Geiger has also seen his student-athletes make tremendous strides in the classroom. His programs consistently garner Academic All-America status, and 15 of his student-athletes have earned NCAA postgraduate scholarships during his time as head coach.
Geiger is also well known on the national level. He coached at the Olympic Festival and was named coach of the U.S. National Team for the 1987 World Cross Country Championships in New Zealand. He has also been a featured speaker at the U.S. Olympic Training Center and a member of the U.S. Olympic Development Committee for distance running.
A graduate of Kent State, Geiger was a three-time letterwinner in track and cross country, and he majored in health education and psychology. Kent State's Varsity K Hall of Fame honored him as the distinguished alumnus in its inductee class of 2008.
Geiger is the first Wolfpack head coach to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, which was started in 1995. The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association recognizes coaches who have brought great distinction to themselves, their institutions and the sports of cross country and track and field. Geiger will be honored alongside five other coaches for exemplifying leadership, dedication and passion for the profession.
During Geiger's remarkable tenure as a head and assistant coach for NC State's cross country teams, the Wolfpack has built a tradition matched by few programs nationally. NC State's men's and women's cross country squads have combined to win 34 Atlantic Coast Conference team championships and 21 individual ACC titles since he joined the Wolfpack staff in 1979.
He has coached a total of four distance runners to wins at the NCAA Championships – Betty Springs (1981 cross country, 1983 cross country), Suzie Tuffey (1985 cross country), Laurie Henes (1991 outdoor 5,0000m) and Kristin Price (2002 outdoor 10,000m). Tyrell Taitt (1993 outdoor triple jump) and the Pack's relay quartet of Auguston Young, Alston Glenn, Danny Peebles and Harvey McSwain (1985 outdoor 4x100) have also claimed national titles during Geiger's tenure as head coach.
Geiger turned the NC State women's cross country team over to Laurie Henes in 2006, but not before he coached his women's teams to 15 top-10 finishes at the AIAW or NCAA Championships and to national titles in 1979 and 1980. The women won seven-consecutive ACC championships from 1987-1993 and claimed 20 of 26 ACC titles from the time women's cross country was added as a championship sport in 1978 until Geiger handed the reins over to Henes. His Wolfpack women made more appearances at the NCAA Championships than any other women's program in meet history.
On the men's side, the Pack has won 15 ACC team titles under Geiger's leadership, with the latest coming in 2011. At the national level, Geiger's men's teams have earned 10 national top-10 finishes and most recently finished 11th in 2018 for the team's best national finish since 2011. NC State's highest men's finish under Geiger came in 1999 when NC State placed third at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Geiger is a 28-time ACC Cross Country Coach of the Year. He is also a seven-time NCAA Southeast Regional Coach of the Year honoree, an award that he most recently won in 2018 after leading NC State's men to their second regional title in three years.
After serving as distance coach for the track and field teams from 1979-1984, Geiger was elevated to head coach at the beginning of the 1984-1985 academic year. His men's squads have won eight ACC team titles during his tenure, and Geiger has been honored as ACC Track & Field Coach of the Year a total of six times during his career.
He has played a role in coaching 247 All-America selections and 714 All-ACC performers between both cross country and track and field.
In addition to his teams' athletic successes, Geiger has also seen his student-athletes make tremendous strides in the classroom. His programs consistently garner Academic All-America status, and 15 of his student-athletes have earned NCAA postgraduate scholarships during his time as head coach.
Geiger is also well known on the national level. He coached at the Olympic Festival and was named coach of the U.S. National Team for the 1987 World Cross Country Championships in New Zealand. He has also been a featured speaker at the U.S. Olympic Training Center and a member of the U.S. Olympic Development Committee for distance running.
A graduate of Kent State, Geiger was a three-time letterwinner in track and cross country, and he majored in health education and psychology. Kent State's Varsity K Hall of Fame honored him as the distinguished alumnus in its inductee class of 2008.
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