NATCHITOCHES -- When Northwestern State hosts the first of three track and field meets this spring at the Walter Ledet Track Complex on April 16, the name of the iconic coach of the program will be featured in the meet title: The Leon Johnson NSU Invitational.
NSU director of athletics Greg Burke announced Wednesday the addition of Johnson's name to the meet's identity, a token of appreciation for the coach's far-reaching impact at the university and in the community during his 29 years as the head track and field coach at Northwestern. It is believed to be the only collegiate meet in the country named for a still-active coach.
"It is fitting that an event that Leon Johnson initiated many years ago, and one that has had such a positive impact on the NSU track and field program along with the Natchitoches community, will now bear his name," said Burke. "I had the opportunity to share this good news with the entire track team prior to making this official announcement and their response was a combination of joy and appreciation for the fact that Leon was going to be honored in this manner."
Johnson left DeRidder High School to become head track and field coach at Northwestern in the summer of 1982. The only coach or athletic staff member who has been around NSU longer became president. That would be 37-year (1913-1950) head basketball coach H. Lee Prather, for whom Prather Coliseum, NSU's arena, is named.
"Leon's name has been synonymous with the NSU track program for the past four decades and that, in and of itself, is incredible and is a credit to the level of loyalty and dedication with which he has served our university," said Burke. "He is highly respected in the Southland Conference and on a national level for his wealth of knowledge and perspective and I am sure that his peers likewise consider the naming of this event to be an appropriate honor for Leon."
In each of the past three Olympic Games, one of Johnson's athletes has competed for Team USA -- both triple jumpers, LaMark Carter in the 2000 Sydney Games and Kenta Bell in the 2004 Athens Games, and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Johnson has produced 48 NCAA Division I All-Americans. In track and field, there's no subjectivity -- that honor is earned by placement at the national indoor and outdoor championships, measured against the elite Division I competitors in the country in each event.
Johnson has coached NSU to Top 20 finishes in both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Division I Championships.
"I'm honored and very humbled, and I want to thank Greg Burke, (vice president of external affairs) Jerry Pierce and (NSU president) Dr. Randy Webb for doing this," said Johnson. "Coaching track and field, and coaching here at Northwestern, is what I love to do. Whatever success and longevity I've had is due to the athletes and coaches, past and present, who have been part of our program. We've always worked hard, had fun and aimed high. There's great tradition here and we try to uphold and strengthen it."
He has led the Demons to nine conference championships and been named conference Coach of the Year eight times. As a prep coach, he was named state Coach of the Year three times.
He's served as meet referee for the prestigious Oklahoman Daily Classic Indoor Meet and served on the NCAA Championships Throws Jury.
At Northwestern, he started the Lady Demon track and field program in 1985. In 1999, Johnson was inducted in the Graduate N Club Hall of Fame in tribute to his accomplishments and dedication to NSU and its track and field program.
For 16 consecutive seasons from 1989-2005, the Demons finished in the top half of the men's team standings at the Southland Conference Outdoors. For 10 straight years, 1996-2005, Northwestern was the top scoring Louisiana team in the SLC men's standings. After Johnson has shaped a tremendous recruiting class in the last two years, the Demons look ready to return to form.
The Louisiana High School Athletic Association has been holding its all-classifications state cross country championships at Northwestern for more than a decade, relying on Johnson and his staff for smooth management of a massive event involving thousands of competitors from every corner of the state. In January 2010, the LHSAA gave him its "Distinguished Service Award."
The economic impact of that event on the Natchitoches area each year is quite significant, along with the impact by all home college and high school meets hosted at the Ledet Complex by Johnson and the NSU track staff - culminated this season by the May 13-15 Southland Conference Outdoor Championships.
Johnson has been a pivotal figure in the facility hosting Special Olympics competitions, along with American Heart Association and American Cancer Society events.
"Leon Johnson is a shining light in the City of Lights," said Natchitoches mayor Wayne McCullen. "Everybody in the city admires and respects him."
Prior to being appointed head coach at NSU in the fall of 1982, Johnson coached at DeRidder High School. While there, he won the Louisiana Class AAA state title and was named the high school track and field coach of the year in 1982. During this stint, he twice led the Dragons to second place finishes in the state cross country competition.
Before going to DeRidder, Johnson coached at Opelousas High School from 1965 until 1974 where he established a tradition of dominant track and field teams which still exists today. After being appointed as head coach in 1970, Johnson's Opelousas teams dominated the Class AAAA state ranks like no other team in Louisiana, winning state titles in 1971 and 1972 and finishing as state runners-up in 1973 and 1974. During this time period Johnson worked with legendary coach Claude Paxton who coached 1972 Olympic gold medalist Rodney Milburn at Southern.
