Frank Potts (2004) - CU Athletic Hall of Fame - University of Colorado Athletics

Frank Potts

Induction:
2004

Longest Tenure of any CU Athletic Coach or Administrator
Namesake of CU’s Outdoor Track, Potts Field
Coached Over 100 All-Conference Performers & Champions
Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Member

Frank Potts arrived in Boulder near the end of the roaring 20s and remained until the end of the turbulent 60s, as his tenure at the University of Colorado ranks second to none. Potts coached the cross country and track teams for 41 years (1927-1968), coaching scores of all-conference and all-Americans in addition to five NCAA individual champions and over 50 conference champions. And in the days of World War II, he even coached the football team three seasons, compiling a not-to-shabby 16-8-1 record with mix-and-match rosters. A 1927 graduate of the University of Oklahoma, where he was an NCAA champion pole vaulter, he accepted the track and field coach position that summer and CU turned out to be the only job of his professional career. He developed many CU athletes, including CU’s first NCAA champion, high jumper and one-time world record holder Gil Cruter. In 1970, he became the third person associated with CU to be inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. The track at CU is named for him, and he played a significant role in recruiting Byron White to Colorado. He died May 28, 1990 at the age of 87.
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