University of California Athletics

Erv Hunt, the U.S. men's head track and field coach at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, begins his 31st season at California and 30th as head coach of the Golden Bears. He has a reputation as one of the foremost track & field coaches in the United States.

Hunt is California's third Olympic head track coach, the most ever from one University. Hunt's name will now be mentioned along with Golden Bear greats Brutus Hamilton (1952 Olympic coach) and Walter Christie (1924 Olympic coach).

At the time of his appointment as men's head coach in 1973, Hunt was the youngest coach (25) ever to be named at the University. With his 31 years of service at Cal, he is the senior member of the school's coaching staff.

Throughout his lengthy career, Hunt has earned both national and international reputations as a track & field authority. The Cal mentor was one of six coaches directing the U.S. track & field team at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. In 1993, he coached at the World Championship in Stugardt, Germany, tutoring the sprints, hurdles and relays for the U.S. Team. He served as an assistant coach for the USA Team in 1989 at the World Cup Games, which also were staged in Barcelona.

After 19 years at the helm of California's highly-regarded men's track & field program, Hunt accepted a new challenge in 1992, adding the title of Director of Track & Field to his job description in overseeing the merger of the school's men's and women's programs. He now heads the combined men's and women's program with signs indicating that the women's program is destined for the level of success Hunt has established in his three decades in charge of the Golden Bears men's team.

Over the years, Hunt has built the Cal men's program into one of the most consistently successful in the nation. He has kept the Cal tradition strong during the past three decades with solid recruiting efforts and a close-knit feeling among team members.

California's status among the nation's elite programs is demonstrated by the Bears showings in Track & Field News' annual collegiate dual-meet rankings. Between 1980 and 1993, the Cal men had 14 consecutive Top 20 dual meet rankings, including 10 Top 10 finishes and five Top 5 finishes. Dual meet rankings are longer announced.

And while many are quick to down play dual-meet rankings, Hunt's squad has competed well over the years at the NCAA Championship, including three Top 10 and 10 Top 20 finishes. In an era in which scholarship limitations have convinced many that collegiate dual meets are a thing of the past, Hunt has directed California to a position of national prominence as both a dual meet and championship-caliber team. This broad-based success Cal has experienced is a quality lacking in most collegiate programs, and Hunt has made it quite clear that it can be done on a consistent basis.

In the Pacific-10 Conference - clearly the nation's most dominant collegiate track & field conference - the California men have finished in the upper-division 12 of the past 22 seasons. In 2001, the Cal men finished sixth, which was its highest finish in six years, and showed that another upper-division finish is around the corner.

Hunt's men's dual-meet record now stands at 239-70 (.773), establishing him as the winningest coach in Cal's illustrious track & field history. Hunt has more Cal victories than the legendary Cal coach Brutus Hamilton. His winning percentage also is the best in the school's history. On the women's side, his dual-meet record stands at 84-36-1 (.698) in 10 seasons, also the best marks in Cal women's history.

Over the years, he has guided the progress of a total of 87 All-Americans, including Bolota Asmerom, Robert McLean, Nate DeSomber, Dana Lawson and Maria Lopez in 2000; five NCAA individual champions: (Ed Miller, 1976 decathlon; Larry Cowling, 1981 110 meter high hurdles; Kari Nisula, 1988 discus throw; Chris Huffins, 1993 decathlon; Bevan Hart, 2000 decathlon), and 50 conference champions.

Hunt has long been recognized as one of the finest hurdling coaches in the United States, and is a member of the USATF National Olympic Development coaching staff in this area. He was chiefly responsible for the emergence of Larry Cowling, who developed into one of the finest combination hurdlers in American history during his time in Berkeley, while a string of outstanding hurdlers have followed. One of Hunt's hurdlers won the conference title in the 400 meter intermediate event in 1982, '83, and '84, while earning second place honors in 1985 and '86, third in '87. Rod Jett was the 1988 NCAA runner-up in the 110 meter high hurdles.

Born and raised in Fresno, Hunt enjoyed an outstanding prep and collegiate career in his hometown. A three-sport standout at Edison HS, he was a wide receiver in football, played center in basketball, and ran the hurdles in track.

His 14.0 clocking in the 120 yard high hurdles at Fresno CC was the nation's fastest junior college mark in 1967. Hunt also ran 37.7 in the 330-yard intermediate hurdles in 1967 and tried his hand at several field events, the most notable mark a 49-8 triple jump effort. Transferring to Fresno State on a football-track scholarship in 1967, Hunt played defensive back under Daryl Rogers (former Detroit Lions head coach) and earned All-America honors as the Bulldogs won two conference titles. In 1997, Hunt was inducted into the Fresno State Athletics Hall of Fame.

A sixth round pick - and 145th selection overall - of the Green Bay Packers in the 1970 NFL Draft, Hunt played two seasons of professional football until a back injury forced an early retirement. Returning to Fresno, he taught junior high school for a brief time before moving to Clovis HS. In 1972, Cal head coach Dave Maggard hired Hunt to work with the Golden Bear sprinters and hurdlers. When Maggard was appointed Athletic Director in 1973, he promptly named Hunt as his successor.

Hunt and his wife, Jacquelyne, reside in El Sobrante. They have two children, Jamie and Ericka.

Erv Hunt's Coaching Accomplishments
* Owns the best winning percentage (.773) in California's tradition-rich men's track & field history
* Winningest coach in California track & field history (239)
* Inducted into the Fresno Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Fresno State Hall of Fame in 1997
* Head Coach for the USA men's team at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta
* Head Coach for the USA team at the 1995 World University Games in Fukada, Japan
* Assistant Coach for the USA team at the 1993 World Championship in Stugardt, Germany
* Assistant Coach for the USA team at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona
* Assistant Coach for USA Team at the 1989 World Cup Games in Barcelona, Spain
* Assistant Coach for USA at the 1986 Freedom Games in Moscow
* A member of the TAC National Olympic Development coaching staff, specializing in hurdle events
* Has coached 87 All-Americans, five NCAA individual champions, and 50 conference champions at Cal
* Has guided the Cal men's team to five Top 5 dual meet rankings, 10 Top 10 finishes and 14 Top 20 rankings
* 1981 NCAA District VIII "Coach of the Year"

Hunt's California Coaching Career

Erv Hunt Position: Director of Track & Field Experience: 31st Year at Cal