Remembering a Baylor legend: Clyde Hart

Clyde Hart (BBA ’56) came to Baylor in 1952 as a student-athlete, then returned in 1963 as the Bears’ head track and field coach — a role he would hold for the next 42 years, followed by another 14 in another role with the program.

That’s 60 years wearing the green and gold as a student and coach — fully two-thirds of his life, after his passing on Saturday at age 91.

“When you say Baylor track and field, you have to say Clyde Hart first,” says current Baylor head coach Michael Ford (BBA ’97), who both ran for and coached alongside Hart. “If I had to put him on a Mount Rushmore of coaching at Baylor, he’d be the first one on there.”

The numbers are incredible: Nearly 1,000 meets coached. 34 NCAA champions. 566 All-Americans. Nine Olympic athletes coached, who combined for 17 medals (including 13 golds).

Over the years, his success training 400-meter athletes earned Baylor the nickname “Quarter Mile U.” Led by such track legends as Michael Johnson, BBA ’91, and Jeremy Wariner, Hart’s men’s 4×400-meter relay teams earned outdoor All-America status in 26 of his last 29 years year with the program, capturing 20 NCAA titles.

That success brought Hart virtually every coaching honor one could imagine, from serving on the U.S. Olympic team staff to winning multiple national coach of the year honors. He’s a member of the USA Track & Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, and the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame, and Baylor’s track and field facility (opened in 2015) is named the Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium in his honor.

Earlier this year, Hart published his memoir (co-written with Waco Tribune-Herald sports editor Brice Cherry), Once Around is Enough.