4x100 Relay Team 1981 National Championship (2006) - N-Club Hall of Fame

N-Club Hall of Fame

4x100 Relay Team 1981 National Championship

Class
Induction

2006
Sport(s)

Track & Field - Men's

Think about what happened over 39 seconds on the evening of June 6, 1981, at Bernie Moore Track Stadium in Baton Rouge. Four names were indelibly etched into the history of sports at Northwestern, in Louisiana and in NCAA track and field. Their coach’s brilliance was plain for all the sporting world, not just we lucky folks in and around Natchitoches, to appreciate. For many, the world of college track and field had suddenly been turned upside down. Northwestern State University, represented by Victor Oatis, Joe Delaney, Mario Johnson and Mark Duper, coached by Jerry Dyes, won the N-C-Double-A championship in the 4x100 meter relay. Four young men who grew up in small towns in Winnsboro, Haughton, Timpson and Moreauville, made a really big mark. Consider who they outran on that steamy Saturday night. The biggest name in college sports at that stage – Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker of the University of Georgia. World class sprint stars like Willie Gault of Tennessee, Mel Lattany of Georgia, and future Olympic gold medalist Ron Brown from Arizona State. Teams from Georgia, Tennessee, Arizona State, Arizona, Baylor, Florida State, San Jose State, Oklahoma State. Yes, it was a surprise to many casual fans that the Demons won. But to the other teams in that race, to the coaches and the experts who follow college track, this wasn’t an upset. They knew – the best team won. Those 39 seconds gave Northwestern State University a level of pride we had never experienced before. We were the best of the best. Since then, we’ve been blessed to experience that feeling a few more times thanks to our track and field program. Brian Brown won the USA high jump championship in 1989. The next winter, he set an NCAA record by clearing 7-foot-8 and 1/2 inches to win the NCAA Indoor title. Today, by the way, Brian is in Des Moines, Iowa, where he is the executive director of the Drake Relays. We’ve since produced two members of the USA Olympic Team. LaMark Carter in 2000, and Kenta Bell in 2004. They each have won numerous national and international titles. Stepping away from track and field, just this last March, we had another very similar achievement. On the biggest stage in college sports, the NCAA Basketball Tournament, coach Mike McConathy and his Demons of Destiny made the nation sit up and take notice of little ole NSU by defeating Iowa, the Big Ten Conference champions. People around the country, and even all around the world, were amazed and impressed by what the Demons did. But as wonderful as that was – and we will talk about it for the rest of our lives – it wasn’t winning an NCAA championship. That night, 25 years ago in Baton Rouge, just 39 seconds. That’s all it took. Or, was it? The truth is, the race lasted that long. But the path there was much longer. It was travelled by four young men with great heart, great desire, and make no mistake, great God-given talent. It was navigated by one of the most brilliant coaches this university has ever seen. Years of training and strategy and work combined to carry Oatis, Delaney, Johnson and Duper to the brink of greatness. Taking the track on June 6, 1981, they knew they could win. They believed they should win. They knew Coach Dyes had prepared them to win, no matter who else was on that track. This summer, on June 6, the 25th anniversary of the 4–by-100 meter relay victory, NSU announced its plans to honor that team and their coach on homecoming day, 2006. It’s important to note just how significant Coach Jerry Dyes was, both in this championship team and in the history of athletics at Northwestern. For 11 seasons he served as head track and field coach, following two years as an assistant coach. He produced 29 All-Americans. He oversaw the transition from the NAIA level to the NCAA Division I level of competition. In 1976, he led Northwestern to second in the nation in the NAIA ranks. A year later NSU was competing with the big boys, and before long the Demons were finishing in the top 20 at the NCAA Division I Championships. Along with the accomplishments of his athletes, Coach Dyes left another legacy that remains today. He spearheaded the design of what is now the Walter Ledet Track and Field Complex. He staged meets that attracted teams from major conferences and some of the better athletes in college track and field. Track and field at Northwestern has a rich and proud tradition that dates back for many decades. You look at Coach Ledet and realize he was, himself, a championship competitor in the 1930s. Then he coached so many great teams and athletes and influenced so many lives. You take a moment to reflect on the 25 seasons that we’ve been privileged to have Coach Johnson with us, guiding our program to unprecedented heights. He already is a member of the Graduate N Club Hall of Fame. Coach Ledet was part of the inaugural induction class back in 1969. Saturday morning, it was wonderful to gather and celebrate the accomplishments of another great track and field coach at Northwestern, Jerry Dyes, and four of the greatest athletes in the history of our university. Just how good were they? Simply the best. Just how amazing was their national championship victory? Consider this: in the 25 years since, Northwestern remains the only university that competes at the Division I-AA level in football to ever win a relay title, 4x100 or 4x400, men or women, at the NCAA Division I Indoor or Outdoor Championships.

I'd say that puts Oatis, Delaney, Johnson, Duper and, certainly Coach Dyes, in a class by themselves.

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