Bob Fraley is a proven coach at the high school, college and international levels. Over the last 19 years, Fraley has consistently given Fresno State highly competitive indoor squads as well as many international-caliber athletes. Now, after the retirement of former head coach Gene "Red" Estes, Fraley assumes command of the entire track and field squad as the director of track and field.
Three times in the last 10 years, Fraley's men's indoor squads have finished among the top 15 teams in the country at the NCAA Championships. Since he took over in 1980, the Fresno State men have finished 26th or better seven times.
The women's squads have been strong as well, capturing 15th-place finishes in 1985, 1987 and 1998, and tying for 26th in 1988.
The 1994 season was especially successful for Fraley and his athletes, as he led the Fresno State women to their first indoor WAC championship and was named as 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 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.
Overall, Fraley has guided athletes to 36 All-American honors, including three NCAA titles by his son, Doug, in the pole vault. On the conference level he has coached 54 league titleists, including a 1-2-3 sweep in the pole vault in 1986 and 1992 and a 1-2-3-4 showing at 1994 WAC Outdoor Championships. 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 the pole vault, Doug Fraley skied 18-11 and 11 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 was the highest in all of the WAC for 2000.
The women under his tutelage have also done well. Tamara Compton leaped to personal bests of 20-3 (long jump) and 41-1 (triple jump) under Fraley's direction. Those numbers established the 1960 Fresno State graduate and former letterman as one of the premier field event coaches in the country.
Fraley has been named the Region 8 Head Indoor Coach of the Year five times and is 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.
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.
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.
FRALEY'S NCAA INDOOR RECORD
Year Men's Finish/Pts. Women's Finish/Pts.
1980 DNP/1 --
1981 T-24th/7 --
1982 DNP/1 --
1983 T-26th/6 DNP/0
1984 DNP/0 DNP/0
1985 DNP/0 T-29th/2
1986 T-13th/10 T-25th/4
1987 T-6th/14 T-32nd/1
1988 T-26th/3 T-26th/3
1989 DNP/0 DNP/0
1990 33rd/8 DNP/0
1991 DNP/0 DNP/0
1992 29th/5 DNP/0
1993 DNP/3 T-38th/1
1994 13th/14 T-29th/6
1995 DNP/0 DNP/0
1996 DNP/0 T-40th/3
1997 DNP/0 DNP/0
1998 T-52nd/3 T-15th/13
1999 39th/4.5 19th/7.5
2000 DNP/0 DNP/0
All-Americans Under Fraley
Women
Tonya Mendonca, high jump, 5th (I), 7th (tie), 8th (tie)
Tamara Compton, triple jump, 9th, 6th (I), 5th (I)
Tanya Dooley, 400 meters, 7th, 9th, 7th (I), 3rd (I)
Melissa Price, pole vault, 1st (I), 1st (I), 6th
Men
Doug Fraley, pole vault, 1st (I), 1st (I), 3rd, 3rd, 1st
Reggie Jackson, triple jump, 4th (I), 6th (I), 8th, 4th
Mark Heppner, pole vault, 2nd
Ken Frazier, triple jump, 6th
Derek Oliver, pole vault, 9th (I)
Henry Ellard, triple jump, 7th
David Cox, pole vault, 5th (I), 7th (I), 3rd (I), 7th, 6th, 2nd
Heath Fulk, pole vault, 6th (I)
Clint Williams, triple jump, 13th
Moses Kearney, high jump, 6th (I)
Terry Bowen, 100-meters, 4th
E.J. Jackson, 55 meters, 6th (I), 400 meter relay, 3rd
Jim Davis, pole vault, 4th (I), 6th, 6th
Scott Wenholz, decathlon, 10th
