Cal Poly Pomona Athletics

During his 38 years as a head coach at the Division II level – 27 at Cal Poly Pomona and 11 seasons at Western Illinois – Jim Sackett coached 12 national champions, 135 outdoor track All Americans, and 24 cross country All Americans. Cal Poly Pomona's national title in 1983 was one of seven top-10 finishes at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships under Sackett's leadership.

Sackett is also no stranger to being a Hall of Fame inductee. In 2007, he earned a spot in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Hall of Fame. In 1993, Sackett was inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame. He also was named to the Western Illinois University Hall of Fame in 1997.

Sackett was a two-time NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year, earning the honors in 1983 and 1997 – both with the Broncos. While at Cal Poly Pomona, Sackett hosted a  national track and field championship in 2004, a pair of national cross country championships in 2000 and 2005 and five West Region cross country championships.  

Sackett enjoyed tremendous success at Cal Poly Pomona while turning the Broncos into a national cross country and track and field force. The Broncos captured the 1983 NCAA Division II men's cross country championship and were in the national top-five four times and the top-10 seven times. The Broncos also captured five California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) titles and qualified for the NCAA Championships in four-consecutive seasons, which equals the longest stretch in the program's history.

During a memorable span from 1996 to 1998, Sackett was named the United States Track Coaches' Association's National Coach of the Year in men's cross country in 1997, the USTCA's Women's Track and Field National Coach of the Year in 1997, the CCAA Coach of the Year in men's cross country in 1996 and 1997, the CCAA Coach of the Year in women's track and field in 1997 and 1998, the NCAA West Regional Coach of the Year in men's cross country in 1996 and 1997 and the USTCA's West Region Coach of the Year in women's track and field in 1997 and 1998.

During the 2004 national track and field championships at Mt. San Antonio College and hosted by Cal Poly Pomona, Sackett was honored by the NCAA for his contributions to the sport.

In his career, Sackett hosted five national championships: three in track and field (two at Western Illinois and one at Cal Poly Pomona) and two in cross country (both at Cal Poly Pomona).

He also served on the NCAA Track and Field sports committee for nine years, which was the longest tenure anyone ever had and he was presented with a distinguished service award for cross country and track and field by the Division II Coaches' Association.

After graduating from Mankato State, Sackett began his coaching and teaching career at Leroy Ostrander High School in Leroy, Minnesota. He coached football, basketball and track and field and also started up the wrestling program. He then went to Washington State to get his Master's degree, walked into the track coach's office to inquire about helping out with the program and was told, "the freshmen are all yours."

He went to Davis High School for two years where he was an assistant football coach and head track and field coach. While there, he started the Holden Relays, an annual event that still exists today.

Sackett went on to coach at Sacramento City College for five years, where he taught physical education and coached cross country and track and field. His teams won conference titles in cross country twice and track and field twice and one of his track teams finished second in the state in 1968. He coached four individual state champions.

He then made a big move, heading off to Western Illinois University, where he coached for 11 years. For the final five years there, he coached both cross country and track and field. He hosted national track and field championships twice and had a top-five national finish in cross country and three top-10 finishes in track and field.

Sackett came to Cal Poly Pomona in the fall of 1980... and the rest is history. The tradition of success he established will live on for future Broncos' cross country and track and field teams.