Bill Dellinger's Legacy Continues, Now More Than Ever, In The Cross Country Meet That Bears His Name

By Philip Levinson for DyeStat

University of Oregon Photo

Friday morning, as Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens watches the start of the Bill Dellinger Invitational, he’ll be reflecting on the legacy of the former Oregon runner and coach for whom the meet is named.

As the runners stride down the fairways of Pine Ridge Golf Club in Springfield, Mullens and many others will stop to remember Dellinger, who grew up running in that very same city and died in June at the age of 91.

“Bill Dellinger is a true Oregon legend who played a significant role in helping build the University of Oregon into a national track and field powerhouse,” Mullens said. “He shaped generations of student-athletes and elevated the entire Oregon athletics department through his leadership, passion, and championship standards.” 

WATCH THE BILL DELLINGER INVITATIONAL LIVE ON RUNNERSPACE+

Indeed, as ESPN College Gameday sets up 11 miles away and prepares to broadcast live from Oregon before Saturday’s football game, the entire university owes a debt of gratitude to the coach who won six NCAA team championships as a head coach and assistant coach. This represented percent of all the school’s men’s team championships at the time of Dellinger’s retirement in 1998. 

Beyond that, he led and shaped hundreds of athletes, including dozens of NCAA champions and winners of more than 80 All-America honors, and helped elevate the sports of cross country and track in the U.S. along the way. 

Dellinger’s Patient Approach

Many celebrated athletes ran for Dellinger at Oregon, including Rudy Chapa, Alberto Salazar, Matt Centrowitz, Sr., Jim Hill, Bill McChesney, Jr., and, of course, the legendary Steve Prefontaine, each of whom won NCAA titles, set records, or became Olympians. 

Behind these headliners were unheralded athletes who began as walk-ons and yet ended up flourishing. This latter group added significantly to Dellinger’s best Oregon teams and punctuated his coaching excellence and patient mentorship. 

And that began with fall cross country.

These walk-on athletes included future Olympians Danny Lopez, a transfer student from an Arizona community college, and Art Boileau, whom Dellinger discovered in an Oregon PE class. Boileau is also planning to attend this Friday’s Dellinger Invitational Meet in Springfield.

“I loved Bill because, with his military background, he was not one of these touchy-feely guys,” said Boileau, alluding to Dellinger’s U.S. Air Force service after graduating from Oregon with his bachelor’s degree in 1956. “Bill respected people if they were out there and training seriously — even walk-ons. Then he would make room for you.”

This diligent and persistent mindset was emblematic of Dellinger’s coaching style, particularly in coaching his runners to steady improvement over months and years. After all, Dellinger was a Springfield High grad and he began his coaching career at Thurston High. He opportunistically took his first job at Oregon coaching the field events under Bowerman.

Pat Tyson discussed the characteristics that distinguished Dellinger from other coaches.

“As a coach, Bill always had the ability to be patient,” says Tyson, a successful walk-on runner and now the men’s track and field and cross country coach at Gonzaga.  “Bill was blue collar. He always knew that it’s the long haul, not the short haul. Bill gave us a long leash. He did not over-coach us. You had to be a self-starter. He made things very simple. He worked us hard, and we weren’t afraid of it.”

Dellinger and Prefontaine: Olympians Who Shared A Bond

Tyson competed on Dellinger’s first NCAA title-winning team, the 1971 cross country team that included Steve Prefontaine. Pre won the race — one of his seven individual NCAA titles under Dellinger.

Dellinger’s judgment and adaptability, one of five key training principles he developed, are evident in how he recruited and then coached Prefontaine at Oregon starting in 1969. Bowerman led the Oregon track teams through 1972, but the day-to-day responsibility for coaching Pre belonged to Dellinger. The two shared a truly unique bond and friendship built on  mutual respect. 

When the 1972 Olympics in Munich were tragically disrupted and suspended due to terrorism, it was Dellinger who took an agitated 21-year-old Pre out of the Olympic Village to reset himself. The Air Force veteran calmed his young athlete down to get him mentally prepared for the r escheduled 5,000 meters final. Pre ended up running courageously in an epic race, narrowly missing a medal. 

Dellinger ‘Changed my life forever’

Dellinger’s savvy and consistent leadership continued for nearly three decades at Oregon, bringing ongoing success. A career highlight was the 1984 men’s track team, which won the NCAA team title as underdogs in dramatic fashion at Hayward Field. Dellinger’s team included a unique combination of highly-touted and under-the-radar athletes, including eventual Olympic gold medalist Joaquim Cruz and future Olympians Brian Crouser and Ken Flax. 

Going into the men’s 1,500 meters final on the last day, Oregon held a narrow lead. Dellinger quietly watched Oregon’s two runners toe the line as the packed Hayward grew excited. 

“They started clapping before the start,” said four-time All-American Dub Myers. “I got chills. I couldn’t hear any splits. I tried to read the guy’s lips.” 

Cruz won the 1,500. Myers passed seven runners on the final lap to grab third. With these two top-three finishes, Dellinger’s team scored 113 points in the championship meet, an NCAA men’s team track record that still stands today. Dramatically and emphatically, the veteran coach had finally earned an NCAA team track title. 

This overachieving team was emblematic of Dellinger - and is commemorated in many celebratory photos featuring the coach and his athletes parading around Hayward Field with the trophy, embracing and even drinking champagne.

“I have to thank Bill for being the only coach in America who recruited me. . . Things turned out far greater than either of us would have ever thought,” said Flax, a walk-on hammer thrower and eventual NCAA record holder. “I am so thankful for him spending the 10 cents to send me a letter inviting me to walk-on as a hammer thrower at Oregon. That letter changed my life forever.”

Sparking The Rise Of TrackTown

As many already know, before Dellinger made his mark on Oregon as a coach, he was a standout runner himself under the legendary Bill Bowerman. Dellinger won two individual NCAA titles, set two world records and six USA records, and competed in the 1956, 1960, and 1964 Olympic Games in the 5,000-meter race. True to his understated style, he came out of athletic retirement in 1963 before winning the bronze medal in Tokyo in 1964. What is somewhat less known is that Dellinger was one of the very first of many greats to run under Bowerman - and set the stage for other notable Men of Oregon, including Olympian Jim Bailey, Jim Grelle, Dyrol Burleson, Prefontaine, and a 4:13-miler named Phil Knight. 

---------------------------

Philip Levinson, who ran at Oregon for Bill Dellinger as a walk-on for three years, has published business and technology articles in TechCrunch, Business Insider, InformationWeek, and TheNextWeb. He has also written several track and running articles, including one on Roger Bannister and another on Bill Dellinger in 2024, commemorating his 90th birthday.