Charles Oliver, or Coach O, will go down as one of the most decorated track student-athletes in Troy history, but it isn’t just his time as a student-athlete that makes Oliver deserving of a place in the inaugural Troy University Sports Hall of Fame class.
A true champion in every sense of the word, Oliver has been a part of National Championships as a collegiate athlete, a coach, an administrator and as a businessman.
Oliver, who only began running track as a senior at Jordan High School in Columbus, Ga., won a state championship that season in the 400-meter dash, but it was through a common acquaintance that he popped up on the radar of John Anderson, Troy State’s track and field coach at the time.
Sam Nader, the football coach at Jordan High School, knew Anderson from their days at Auburn University and told Anderson about a young track star in the making at Jordan that was worth taking a look at.
“I think during his freshman year in Troy, Charlie ran the 400-meter in about 47 seconds,” said Anderson. “But the rest, as they say, is history.”
Oliver won the 1976 NAIA National Championship in the 400-meter dash and still holds the Troy school record in the event with a blistering time of 45.74 seconds. He also placed fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas, that season in the 440-yard dash.
“Records are meant to be broken,” said Anderson. “But I think Charlie’s record in the 400-meter is going to sit for a while.”
Oliver was also a part of a 4x400-meter relay team that finished second at the 1973 NAIA Championships with a then-school record time of 3:09.9 minutes and a 4x100-meter relay team that set a then-school record of 41.2 seconds in 1976 at the Princeton Relays.
“Charlie had a great attitude,” Anderson said. “That was his key to success. He had a great attitude and he figured out how to run fast and win. He was just that plain and simple.”
After his career at Troy State, Oliver was ranked among the top-10 in the country by Track & Field News in 1974, 1976 and 1980.
Oliver returned to Troy State in 1980 as a graduate assistant track and field coach, and was named the program’s head coach a season later. Before he left Troy State in 1988, Coach O’s teams won seven Gulf South Conference track championships, Oliver was named Coach of the Year seven times and 26 athletes won All-America honors.
Coach O’s success attracted the attention of the University of Tennessee where he was on the staffs that won National Championships as a track and field assistant coach and as a football administrator.
Oliver’s roots in Troy are still prominent today as he currently sponsors the Coach O Cross Country Invitational and the Coach O Track & Field Invitational each year at Troy.
He is also a successful businessman, founding Bags by Coach O in 1989, and is heavily involved in supporting grassroots track and field programs for kids. Oliver is a member of the Theta Phi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, where he was one of 20 brothers of the charter line that brought the first black fraternity to the Troy State campus.
Oliver now resides in Knoxville, Tenn., where he runs his Bags by Coach O business. Oliver and his wife Jessie have two sons, Charles lll and Alexander ,a daughter in law, Denise and a grandson, Kristian.
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Testimonial - Phil Logan, The Perfect Timing Group
Yesterday at the AAU Club Championship in Orlando we experienced a driving rain storm in the middle of the meet. We had to delay the track meet and everyone ran for cover. In our rush, we left the CoachO shoulder bags housing our electronic sensors (FAT starts for Finishlynx cameras) in the bag. It rained really bad and we had an hour delay at the meet. After the rain storm we returned to the track to discover our rain soaked CoachO shoulder bag lying on the ground. I opened the canvas bag imaging all our starter sensor being soaked and very surprised all the contents were dry as a bone. This bag has a plastic lining which protects the contents in the bag from water. I was very happy all the electronic cabling and sensors were not damaged.
All my timers with the Perfect Timing Group use CoachO bags for the starters. I am happy we made this choice. Having the bags water resistance was a added bonus alone with the handy shoulder strap for the starters and the perfect size for Lynx starter sensors.
Thanks, Coach O.
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The inaugural class of the Troy Athletics Hall of Fame will be honored at a ceremony inside the new Trojan Arena tonight.
11 of the most influential people in Troy athletics history will be enshrined in a state-of-the-art hall of fame that will be located at the entrance of the arena.
“It is certainly going to be a first-class event,” said Director of Special Events & Fundraising Michael Murphy. “It’s Troy’s finest being celebrated and honored in one night. Not only the athletics but the school as well.”
Troy University is celebrating its 125th this year and the hall of fame representatives will cover the near 100 years of the athletics program.
Virgil Parks McKinley was Troy’s first football coach in 1909 and helped create the gridiron tradition at the university.
NFL star DeMarcus Ware, current head coach Larry Blakeney, former coach Billy Atkins, former quarterback Sim Byrd, and former quarterback Mike Turk, who led the Trojans to the national title in 1984 and 1987, will all go in as football members of the elite class.
Ralph Adams, who served as the school’s president from 1964 to 1989, guided Troy from NAIA to Division II and saw the school win national championships in football, baseball and golf during his tenure in the 1980s.
Don Maestri, current men’s basketball head coach, Chase Riddle, Troy baseball’s all-time leader in victories and coach of the 1986 and 1987 national championship teams, Denise Monroe, the school’s all-time leading women’s basketball scorer, and track and field athlete, coach and administrator Charles “Coach O” Oliver will all also be enshrined at the ceremony.
Barry McKnight will serve as Master of Ceremonies. En lieu of acceptance speeches, special presentations filled with highlights and interviews for each inductee will be played on the new video boards in the arena.
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