NEW ORLEANS, La. – Saluki Hall of Famer Connie Price-Smith was inducted in to the 2024 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the organization announced Tuesday.
The St. Charles, Missouri, native was one of six coaches to be elected this year.
Price-Smith’s long list of accolades began at SIU as a four-year member of the women’s basketball team from 1980-1984. As a junior she led the nation and set the Saluki record for field goal percentage at .650, a record that stands today.
After SIU, Price-Smith made four Team USA Olympic teams, and earned a wide variety of accomplishments as a track and field athlete in the shot put and discus. By the end of her career, she was one of only 14 female athletes and one of only 30 US athletes of either gender ever to compete in four Olympiads.
In total, she won 25 national titles, the most by any woman in U.S. history.
After she finished competing, she came back to Southern Illinois where she coached the Saluki Women’s Track and Field team from 2001-04, and took over the whole program from the 2004 season through 2015. During her stint as head coach, she was a six-time MVC Coach of the Year (2005 & 2009 indoor, 2009 & 2010 outdoor, 2012 indoor, 2015 outdoor), with each year resulting in an MVC team championship. She coached 72 All-Americans (51 First-Team), which included eight NCAA national champions and 17 NCAA runners-up. She also produced 206 MVC Champions and 19 MVC Most Valuable Athletes.
She currently resides as the Head Coach of Ole Miss University, where she has continued incredible success and elevated the program to a perennial national contender.
Price-Smith is a revered leader in the track universe, having spent time as the President of the USTFCCCA, NCAA Track and Field and as the chair of the NCAA track and field committee.
She was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2016.
The 2024 USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony takes place on Tuesday, December 17, at the USTFCCCA Convention, held at the Grande Lakes Resort in Orlando, Florida.
