CEDARVILLE, Ohio - Elvin King, the only coach to lead a Cedarville University athletic team to an NAIA national title, has announced he will step down as head coach of the Lady Jacket cross country program following the 2009 season. He will also retire from the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at the end of the academic year where he carries the title of Associate Professor.
"The best explanation is that it’s just the right time for me," King stated. "I’ve been at Cedarville for 41 years and the Lord has blessed me immensely. My wife (Joyce) and I have talked about it for awhile and we’re still looking forward to helping out the athletics program however we can."
King has been associated with the Yellow Jacket distance running program since coming to Cedarville in 1969 and he’s the only coach that Cedarville’s highly-regarded women’s cross country team has ever had. He started the women’s track and cross country programs in 1979, but he devoted his coaching full-time to women’s cross country since 2002 after previously coaching track as well as men’s cross country.
"We certainly appreciate all that Elvin has done for cross country and track not only at Cedarville, but throughout the state and the nation," remarked athletic director Dr. Alan Geist. "We will miss his influence on the women’s cross country program and on our athletic department."
Geist added that King will fulfill his responsibilities through the season and that the University is considering its options on how to fill the position.
The biggest highlight of King’s coaching career occurred in 2001 when Cedarville captured the NAIA national championship and he was voted National Coach of the Year. It remains the only NAIA title that any Yellow Jacket team has ever won.
The women, who are currently ranked #7 in the country, have been the NAIA runner-up in 2006, 2007, and 2008. They garnered their eighth NCCAA championship banner and third in a row in 2008. The Lady Jackets also claimed the American Mideast Conference championship for the seventh time in the past nine seasons.
Cedarville added yet another remarkable achievement to its decorated history in 2008. The Lady Jackets won the All-Ohio Intercollegiate Championship which includes all of the state’s major colleges and universities. CU became the first NAIA school to win the trophy.
The Lady Jackets have been ranked among the NAIA's Top 20 cross country programs in each of the last 17 years including stints at the No. 1 spot during the 2001, 2002, and 2008 campaigns. They have posted nine straight NAIA Top 10 finishes.
King received a rare honor during CU’s Homecoming Weekend in 2006. In recognition of his dedicated commitment to Cedarville University, the school’s new home distance running venue was named the Elvin R. King Cross Country Course.
King has been a frontrunner in the National Christian College Athletic Association. He is responsible for developing the NCCAA Track & Field Championships and he has played a key role in Cedarville hosting the NCCAA Cross Country Championships for what will be the 30th time in the past 32 years when the event returns on Nov. 14.
King's teams have won a combined 17 NCCAA track and cross country titles. Equally as impressive is that on 16 occasions one of his runners has been presented the Wheeler Award (men) or the Bullock Award (women) which is symbolic of the NCCAA's Athlete of the Year in either track or cross country.
King's efforts earned him induction into the Cedarville University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988, the NCCAA Hall of Fame in 1993, and the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2005. He has won numerous Coach of the Year Awards in the NAIA, NCCAA, the American Mideast Conference, and the Mid-Ohio Conference.
He was the Ohio Intercollegiate Cross Country Association’s selection for the coveted Marv Frye Award in 2009 for his contributions to cross country in the Buckeye state. He is also a past president of the OICCA.
Elvin and his wife, Joyce, who was inducted into the Cedarville University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003 for her meritorious service to Yellow Jacket athletics, reside in Cedarville. They have two children and four grandchildren.
The King File
Women’s Cross Country
- NAIA National Champions - 2001
- NAIA National Runner-Up - 2006, 2007, 2008
- NAIA National Coach of the Year - 2001
- NCCAA National Champions - 1985, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008
- All-Ohio Intercollegiate Champions - 2008
- NAIA Scholar-Team Award (highest combined GPA) - 1997, 1998
- NAIA Region IX Champions - 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007
- American Mideast Conference Champions - 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
- Mid-Ohio Conference Champions - 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996
- 25 NAIA All-Americans
- 52 NAIA Scholar-Athletes
- 8 NCCAA Individual Champions
- 72 NCCAA All-Americans
- 59 NCCAA Scholar-Athletes
- 66 All-Conference Runners