Elvin King has been associated with the Yellow Jacket distance running program since coming to Cedarville in 1969 and he started the women’s track and cross country programs in 1979. He has devoted his coaching full-time to women’s cross country since 2002 after previously coaching track as well as men’s cross country.
In recognition of King’s dedicated commitment to Cedarville University, the school’s new home distance running venue was named the Elvin R. King Cross Country Course. The site was dedicated during Homecoming Weekend in 2006.
The Lady Jackets have long been recognized for having one of the top NAIA distance running programs in the country. While King has enjoyed many highlights during his career, the biggest occurred in 2001 when Cedarville captured the NAIA national championship, the school's first in any sport, and he was voted NAIA National Coach of the Year.
The women 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.
King's program has proven to be national caliber both on the field of competition and in the classroom. The Lady Jackets have been ranked among the NAIA's Top 20 programs in each of the last 16 years including stints at the No. 1 spot during the 2001, 2002, and 2008 campaigns. They have posted nine straight NAIA Top 10 finishes.
The Lady Jackets won the Mid-Ohio Conference championship from 1992 through 1996. They have twice earned the NAIA Scholar-Team Award for having the highest combined grade point average among teams at the national meet. King has coached 52 NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
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 29 of the past 31 years.
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 Collegiate Cross Country Coaches Association Division II/NAIA Women's Coach of the Year for the 2000 season and he is a past president of the Ohio Intercollegiate Cross Country Association.
King, who is an Associate Professor in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science, is a 1964 graduate of Kent State University. He earned his master's degree from Bowling Green State University in 1967.
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:
- 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
- 42 NAIA Scholar-Athletes
- 8 NCCAA Individual Champions
- 72 NCCAA All-Americans
- 59 NCCAA Scholar-Athletes
- 66 All-Conference Runners
