Thirty years is a long time period, but in today's fly by night, what have you done for me lately world of college athletics it is a feat of extraordinary proportions. Well, that's exactly what Wisconsin Men's Track & Field coach Ed Nuttycombe accomplished this season and after it's completion this past weekend Nuttycombe is calling it a career.
“Ed’s career is unparalleled,” UW Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez said via statement from Wisconsin. “The success is obvious when you look at the numbers, but the way he succeeded with integrity and touched so many people across his program and his sport is what speaks volumes about the job he did as a head coach.
“To be able to adapt to all the changes in society and in student-athletes over the last 30 years while maintaining such a high level of success is truly remarkable.”
And boy, what a career it was. Over those 30 years he built Wisconsin into a track & field powerhouse, winning 26 conference championships. That's the most of any coach in conference history, regardless of sport. His most recent championship came this season as Wisconsin won the 2013 Big Ten indoor championship. They also won the 2012 outdoor title as well.
He also helped oversee the Cross Country program (although not directly coaching it), which have won another 26 titles in his 30 years at the UW for a total of 52 titles. In the end he has recorded more conference championships at Wisconsin than the rest of the league combined (37).
Oh and just for good measure, on 10 different occasions the Badgers managed to sweep the conference cross country, indoor, and outdoor track & field titles.
This year the program finished 2nd in the Program of the Year standings (an accumulation of points based off of finishes in each of cross country, indoor, and outdoor NCAA Championships).
Nuttycombe is simply a legend at Wisconsin and luckily he will be along to guide whomever takes over the role as Men's Track & Field Coach next season.
“I certainly want to remain part of the program at some level, and I’ll have that discussion with whoever succeeds me,” he said. “These guys haven’t seen the last of me.”
One thing is for certain, the school has been lucky to have him and it's all around athletic success wouldn't be possible without his help. Good luck in retirement Coach Nuttycombe, it's been a great ride!
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