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Feb. 15, 2008

FRESNO, Calif. - After an illustrious 28-year collegiate coaching career that included producing NCAA championship student-athletes and Olympians, Bob Fraley has announced he will be retiring from Fresno State at the end of this season. Fraley is concluding his 28th year at Fresno State, his alma mater, and his eighth as the Director of Track & Field.

"We are humbled to announce the retirement of Coach Fraley and look forward to the opportunity to honor him as one of the all-time great contributors to Fresno State Athletics and the sport of Track and Field," said Director of Athletics Thomas Boeh. "Through 27 years of enthusiasm, commitment and extraordinary work, Coach Fraley has been a positive influence on the lives of countless Bulldog Student-Athletes both on and off the track. We are grateful for all that he has accomplished on behalf of Fresno State and look forward to his continued pursuit of his passions and development of his special events, including the his latest contribution to our community, the Run for the Dream."

During his career, Fraley has consistently produced highly-competitive squads, as well as many international-caliber athletes. In 2001, Fraley began a new era of coaching an entire track and field squad as the director of track and field.

Since taking over the reins, the Fresno State track and field program established itself as one of the premier squads in the West, both in competition and in the classroom. In addition, Fraley and his teams have been annually recognized for their community service efforts while claiming the campus philanthropy honor multiple times under his direction.

"I'm seventy years of age, I've been in education for 48 and I'm ready to retire," said Fraley. "I came to Fresno State as a teacher and a coach, and it's unbelievable to me that I have gone as far as I did. Never did I ever believe, not in my wildest dreams, did I think that I would coach at the university level. I have had some great opportunities because of working at Fresno State, things I wouldn't have experienced without this university. As I look back upon this, I know that doors have been opened for me because of my time at Fresno State."

His leadership brought to fruition the "Run for the Dream" event at the Save Mart Center, which brought together the highest caliber high schools and college athlete from the west, as well as elite international competitors. In a relationship with USA Track and Field, Fraley convinced organizers to add this event to the prestigious VISA Series. In addition, Fraley created popular North American Pole Vault event held each August in downtown Clovis, Calif. He will continue to assist with both of those projects.

Fraley's coaching accomplishments were highlighted nationally when he was named USA Track & Field's 2003 Nike Coach of the Year in December 2003 at the organization's annual meeting in Greensboro, N.C.

That would be the first of two accolades for the Bulldog's legendary skipper, who later was awarded the 2003 United States Olympic Committee's Developmental Coach of the Year honor on May 2, 2004 at the organization's recognition dinner at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs.

Fraley played a pivotal role in rejuvenating the event of the pole vault in the United States when in 1989 he created the Pole Vault Summit, now held in Reno, Nev. Featuring competitions and an exchange of knowledge about pole vaulting, the event attracts more than 2,000 male and female athletes, from teenagers to Olympic gold medalists, annually.

As a result of his contributions, Fraley was recently inducted into the Pole Vault Hall of Fame. Credited nationwide with spearheading the development of the pole vault, Fraley joined Dave Roberts (former world-record holder) and Mike Tulley (silver medalist at 1984 Olympic Games) as Hall of Fame inductees during a Jan. 26, 2006 banquet ceremony.

His work has reaped dividends: in the last three years alone, Team USA men's pole vaulters have won the gold and silver medals at both the 2000 Olympic Games and 2001 IAAF World Indoor Championships, as well as the bronze medal at the 2001 World Outdoor Championships.

In 2003, his contributions reached a new level when he donated his salary to the school's track program to help during a department budget crisis.

Fraley has guided athletes to 41 All-American honors and four NCAA titles in the pole vault.

Athletes have achieved heights and distances competitive with the finest in the country, and the world, under his direction. He guided the men's and women's teams to third- and second-place finishes, respectively, in Fresno State's first indoor conference meet at the WAC

Championships in 1993. In his first season as director, Fraley guided his squads to a perfect 8-0 record, with the men's and women's squads each winning three multi-team-meets.

Fraley, a 1960 graduate of Fresno State, has been named the Region 8 Head Indoor Coach of the Year five times and served as the President of Division I Track Coaches, as well as the chairman of pole vault development in the United States. He has a great deal of experience on the national level. The Athletics Congress appointed him to be an assistant coach on the U.S. Junior National team in 1986. He also coached the top U.S. juniors at the Pan American Junior Games in a dual meet with Romania, and at the Inaugural World Junior Games in Athens, Greece, that year.

Fraley earned his first coaching accolade as director of track and field when he was named WAC Women's Coach of the Year after guiding the 2002 squad to its first WAC Outdoor Championship crown in school history.

The 1994 season was especially successful for Fraley and his athletes, as he assisted in leading the Fresno State women to their first indoor WAC championship and was named the men's Outdoor Coach of the Year for his part in guiding the Bulldogs to their first outdoor WAC title. The Bulldogs finished second in both indoors and outdoors in 1996.

With all of the success Fraley has had indoors, his greatest contribution has come coaching the highly successful Fresno State pole vault, jump and sprint corps. Fraley has produced some of the finest athletes in the conference and the nation in his specialties.

In the pole vault, Doug Fraley skied over 18-11 and 13 other Fraley-coached vaulters have gone 17 feet plus, including David Cox's 18-6 1/2 effort in 1996. He has coached two 26-foot long jumpers and seven triple jumpers who have posted bests of 52-feet-or-better, including U.S. Junior National champion and four-time All-American Reggie Jackson, who soared a career-best 54-9 3/4. Cox earned his sixth All-America honor under Fraley during the outdoor 1996 season, as he placed second at the NCAA meet at 18-2. More recently, Fraley guided former Bulldog standout and All-American, Jim Davis to an outstanding 19-0 1/4 in 2000. The vault was record-breaking as it still stands as the WAC Championship record.

The women under his tutelage have also done well. Over the past 17 years, the women's team has produced 83 outdoor conference champions and 11 indoor champions including 1999's two-time NCAA indoor pole vaulting champion Melissa Price.

"During the next few months, we will initiate a national search for a new head coach that will assume leadership of the program this summer," added Boeh. "We are confident that we have a very attractive opportunity here at Fresno State and the future for Fresno State Track & Field and Cross Country is bright."

Before joining the Fresno State staff, Fraley won 13 league track titles in 15 seasons at Lemoore (Calif.) High School, losing only two dual meets during that time. He was inducted in the Lemoore High School Hall of Fame.

A 1956 graduate of Laton High School, Fraley competed in football, basketball and track. Fraley was born on Nov. 30, 1937, and he and his wife, Elaine, have three children: Tammi, Jill and Doug.

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