Ron Allice Honored With Hall of Fame Selection

Former USC Track and Field head coach Ron Allice was placed amongst the legends of collegiate coaching, being selected to the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2013.

Selections for the Collegiate Coaches Hall of Fame are determined by the significant impact coaches made on the history of track and field at the national, collegiate, and international levels.

Leading the USC Men’s and Women’s track programs to a combined 32 NCAA titles, and 25 team top-ten finishes, Ron Allice directed the Trojan program in championship style for 19 years. Throughout his nearly two-decade coaching career, Alice directed 286 All-American first-team selections.

Mar 23, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans coach Ron Allice at the 2013 Trojan Invitational at Cromwell Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

This past season, graduating seniors Bryshon Nellum (Olympic Silver Medalist) and Reggie Wyatt (reached Olympic Trails) captured NCAA individual titles in the 400M and 400M IH respectively.

Helping lead the cause for these championship dreams, Coach Allice summed up his career best with words following an emotional third day of an NCAA National Championship track meet.

“What we’re doing is really special. You can come in with people who are favorites and you get your bubble popped here,” Allice told USCTrojans.com following a track meet on June 7th.

The soon-to-be inducted hall of fame head coach led the men and women’s track programs to a combined 25 NCAA top 10 finishes as well as 32 individual NCAA titles. If the pedigree was not strong enough, Allice coached and developed a wealth of athletes into professional success stories.

In his 19 seasons at the helm, Allice coached 286 All-American first team selections and 54 athletes, including 16 Olympic medals for numerous countries.

On the women’s said, powerhouse athletes Angela Williams, who won an unprecedented four NCAA 100m titles (1999-2002), national record-setting and four-time NCAA title-winning hurdler Virginia Powell (2005-06), and 2000 Olympic medalist sprinter Torri Edwards all played under Allice.

“Coach Allice is always gonna be my guy,” said USC 400M National Champion Bryshon Nellum. “We shared moments that were unforgettable during my time at USC.”

Under the Hall of Fame Coaches recent leadership, the program has also produced 18 of the 21 women’s school records in the Olympic events and eight of the men’s 21 school records. This for a program that has captured 26 team national championships in its prestigious history.

In addition to his 2001 NCAA championship team, Allice led the women’s squad to second-place finishes in 2000 and 2006 and to thirds in 1999 and 2002. He guided the men’s team to top 5 finishes six times, including third place finishes in 1997 and 2003.

That being said, the most decorative athletes to don the Cardinal and Gold appreciate Allice’s contribution to the Trojan program, and have strong thoughts for its future moving forward.

“I like the direction of the program,” Nellum said. “I want to return to USC to make sure our athletes are on the right track, just like he (Allice) helped me throughout my career.”

Allice will be one of six coaches honored at the 2013 USTFCCCA Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Monday, Dec. 16 at the USTFCCCA Convention in Orlando Florida. Joining the Trojans former Track and Field Head Coach will be Al Cantello, Dennis Craddock, Curtis Frye, Jim Hunt and Paul Olsen.