NEW ORLEANS—The highest honor for a collegiate track & field athlete was bestowed on Villanova great Dave Patrick '68 on Tuesday afternoon with the announcement of the Collegiate Track & Field/Cross Country Athlete Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Now in its fifth year, the Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame honors the top performers in the long and storied history of collegiate track & field. Patrick will become the fifth Villanovan to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame at this year's induction ceremony which takes place on Sunday, June 7 at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts in Eugene, Ore. at the start of NCAA Championships week. More details on the induction ceremony, tickets to the event and free live streaming of the ceremony will be announced at a later date.
 
Patrick is one of the most decorated athletes in school history and his name is synonymous with the Wildcats tradition of excellence in track & field and cross country. He is no stranger to Hall of Fame ceremonies, with just a few of his previous honors including being inducted onto the Penn Relays Wall of Fame on two occasions (2002, 2016), the Villanova University Varsity Club Hall of Fame (1985) and the Villanova Stadium Track & Field Wall of Fame (1996). He was a four-time NCAA individual champion and eight-time collegiate All-American to go along with winning six IC4A titles in the mile while running for the Wildcats.
 
The Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame was established in 2022 to honor the best of the best in collegiate track & field and cross country. The Hall of Fame recognizes the achievements of athletes who have left a lasting mark on the sport during their time in college. This year's class features some of the greatest names in track & field and cross country history, as the group of 12 inductees combined to win 44 collegiate national titles, set 37 collegiate records, win five Olympic/World Championships medals, and set seven world records while still in college. These athletes have left an indelible mark on the events they competed in and the universities they represented.
 
Villanova's previous inductees to the Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame began with the inaugural induction class in 2022 when Olympic gold medalist and four-time collegiate champion Ron Delany '58 was inducted along with women's track & field and cross country legend Vicki Huber '89 who was a two-time Olympian and eight-time individual NCAA champion. They were joined by Sonia O'Sullivan '91, four-time Olympian and five-time NCAA champion, in the Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame Induction Class of 2023, and by Olympian and five-time collegiate national Marty Liquori '72 in the Induction Class of 2024.
 
Among the many claims to fame for Patrick during his collegiate career was his first sub-four-minute mile of 3:59.3 on February 17, 1967, in a first-place finish at the NYAC Games. He was just the third collegian ever to break the four-minute barrier indoors and was the second Villanova sub-four miler ever behind Delany; that club of elite Villanovans under four minutes has now grown to 51 individuals over the decades. By the time Patrick's racing career ended, his lifetime PR in the mile was 3:56.8 on June 10, 1968, and his metric equivalent in the 1500 meters was 3:39.9 just five days later.
 
Each of Patrick's four career NCAA titles came in middle distance events, including outdoor championships in the mile in 1966 and the 1500 meters in 1968. He was a back-to-back indoor champion in the 880 yards in 1967 and 1968. When he won the 1967 title in 1:48.9, his time was a world best on a160-yard track at the time of the race and dealt Jim Ryun his first loss in two years. Patrick was a member of three Villanova teams which won national championships, including being a scoring runner on the 1966 and 1967 NCAA champion cross country teams and one of the top runners on the Wildcats 1968 indoor national title team.
 
During Patrick's collegiate years, the IC4A Championship was a major national meet and considered by many to be in par with the NCAA Championship, especially indoors. Patrick swept the IC4A mile titles indoors three years in a row from 1966-68, with Villanova also winning the team title both indoors and outdoors at the 1967 and 1968 meets.
 
As is the case for many of the Wildcats all-time track & field greats, some of Patrick's best moments came in front of a worldwide audience at the Penn Relays. He was part of seven Championship of America titles at the world's oldest and largest track & field competition, but his greatest feat may have been that he anchored each of the seven championship relays he ran on. That includes three Championship of America wheels in the distance medley relay, an event which made Villanova world-famous. Patrick anchored the DMR three years in a row from 1966-68 in a streak of title-winning performances which the Wildcats would incredibly stretch to 16 consecutive wins from 1966-81.
 
Patrick was inducted onto the Penn Relays Wall of Fame as an individual in 2002 for his career achievements there while running for Kenwood (Md.) High School as a scholastic runner and for the Wildcats during his collegiate career. In 2016, Villanova's 1966 championship DMR team was inducted to the Wall of Fame which is located just off the infield on a brick wall at famed Franklin Field where the Penn Relays take place. Patrick is one of 18 individuals from Villanova on the Penn Relays Wall of Fame, and one of just seven who have been inducted as both an individual and as part of a Wall of Fame relay team.
 
The Collegiate Track & Field/Cross Country Athlete Hall of Fame Class of 2026 includes, alphabetically: Earl Bell (Arkansas State, jumps, 1974-77); John Carlos (San Jose State, sprints, 1967-69); Gail Devers (UCLA, sprints/hurdles/jumps, 1985-88); Paul Ereng (Virginia, mid-distance, 1988-89); John Godina (UCLA, throws, 1992-95); Carol Lewis (Houston, jumps/hurdles, 1982-85); Earl McCullouch (Southern California, hurdles, 1965-68); Dave Patrick (Villanova, mid-distance, 1965-68); Candice Scott (Florida, throws, 2001-2005); Dawn Sowell (LSU, sprints, 1985-89); Delisa Walton (Tennessee, mid-distance, 1980-83); and Leann Warren (Oregon, mid-distance, 1980-85).
 
About the USTFCCCA
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is a non-profit professional organization representing cross country and track & field coaches of all levels. The organization represents over 11,000 coaching members encompassing 98-percent of all NCAA track & field programs (DI, DII, and DIII) and includes members representing the NAIA and NJCAA, as well as a number of state high school coaches associations. The USTFCCCA serves as an advocate for cross country and track & field coaches, providing a leadership structure to assist the needs of a diverse membership, serving as an activist for coaches' interests, and working as a liaison between the various stakeholders in the sports of cross country and track & field.
 
About Villanova Athletics
Villanova University has a long and storied athletics history defined by excellence both in competition and in the classroom. The Villanova Athletics Department is a community of student-athletes, coaches, and staff whose primary focus is to achieve academic excellence while striving to produce teams and individuals committed to athletic competition and outstanding performance. Villanova Athletics sponsors 24 varsity sports, which together include more than 600 student-athletes. For more, visit www.villanova.com.