Corey Ihmels is the man Boise State Athletic Director Mark Cole has chosen to try to return the Bronco track teams to the consistent national level that former Coach Mike Maynard had them at prior to his departure. Maynard's teams were consistently in the Top 25 and won several conference titles, and his throwers, particularly the javelin program, were among the elite in the nation.
"We are excited to be able to bring Corey and his family to Boise State," Coyle said. "He has high-level experience as a head coach in the Big 12 Conference, and he has a proven record of developing student-athletes to compete at elite levels on the track and in the classroom."
Ihmels was named Big 12 Conference Cross Country Coach of the Year in both 2011 and 2012, after the Cyclones won the conference championship each year, the first such titles in school history. Ihmels is also a three-time Midwest Regional Cross Country Coach of the Year (2010-12), and was named Midwest Regional Outdoor Track & Field Coach of the Year in 2010.
In all, 29 Iowa State student-athletes earned Big 12 Conference Championships under his guidance, and 280 earned all-conference recognition.
His student-athletes have also excelled in the classroom, garnering 40 Academic All-America awards and 244 Academic All-Big 12 accolades.
"After having lived and trained in Boise as a distance runner, I strongly believe that the programs at Boise State can become a national powerhouse," Ihmels said. "With everything that the University and the city have to offer, there is an incredible amount of untapped potential for these programs. I am excited to bring my passion for developing national-class track and field and cross country student-athletes to Boise State."
Prior to becoming head coach at Iowa State, he served as the head men's cross country coach and assistant track and field coach for the Cyclones for five years. He joined the Cyclones from Arizona State, where he worked as a graduate assistant coach from 2000-01.
Ihmels, a six-time All-American long-distance runner for Iowa State and the 1997 Big 12 Conference Indoor Athlete of the Year, was a member of the Cyclones' 1994 NCAA championship cross country team.
He earned a bachelor's degree in history from Iowa State in 1997, and a master's of education in curriculum and instruction from Arizona State in 2001.
Didn't Maynard leave the Bronco's with 3 years worth of NCAA Violations that cut their scholarships and official visits dramatically? Sanctions that they are still dealing with to this day? I'm actually pretty impressed that the staff managed to get 20 kids to the first round this year (tying Maynard's record), 5 kids to the national meet. They even redshirted 3 members of the team who had made it to the first round of NCAA's the year before. Kudos to the former staff, they set this program up to be amazingly successful once the shadow of Maynard passes. Next year should be a great year to be a fan of Boise State Track, they have 21 first round qualifiers returning, and all of their scholarship money back. BLEED BLUE!!!
ReplyDeleteYour point is well taken. I chose to only focus on the positive.
DeleteAnd lets not forget that the standards to make the "West Region" were greatly relaxed the last time the Broncos brought 20 athletes to that meet. When was the last time Boise State had 2 female distance runners at the finals of the NCAA? And while on sanctions? and how many of the Iowa State athletes were international? Boise State has not been allowed to recruit internationally since 2010, I think that the staff has done a great job recruiting to Boise with that limitation.
ReplyDeleteA true fan would know that the past 3 years have been about holding on and not getting into further trouble with the NCAA, now another coach will come alone and undoubtedly experience success with all sanctions being lifted in September. I wish the new staff best of luck but let us not forget the restrictions that the former staff inherited.
I suppose different fans have different expectations. Boise State had restrictions, but so did the football team, limited by three less scholarships per year. And yet they won the Mountain West Championship last fall. The track team certainly didn't have any restrictions that kept them from winning a conference title or two. Again, people are going to place different levels of importance on whether its better to win conference titles or have a few student-athletes do well nationally. Maynard did both until making mistakes at the end. I believe it's possible to do all three--win conference titles, excel at the National Championships, and do it the right way.
DeleteLol...Did you just compare Footballs loss of 3 of 85 scholarships to track and fields loss of 3 of 12.8 scholarships? Wow. I thought you were a stats guy.
DeleteI believe you are correct in saying you can win conference titles and excel at national championships, but to be fair, the football team would have had to have lost 20 scholarships to have had an equal loss as the track program. Lets be real here, the Track and Field Program did a great job managing what they had.
I also believe that Maynard won conference titles because he was in the WAC. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the Mountain West, but no team has won the mountain west by overloading one event group. There are too many teams that are too good. So that glorious group of elite javelin throwers would have garnered a fantastic 4th or 5th place in Boise State's new conference. Only well rounded teams that score well in every event group win the Mountain West. But hey, just like ISU, they would have done great nationally. Thanks for your insight Rocketman! I do love talking track and field, and love the fact that somebody is actually commenting on what is happening. Not too much information gets out of that athletic department, so any coverage is great! Much appreciated!