Former Track and Field Coach Jimmy Carnes Passes Away
Sunday, March 6, 2011 | Track and Field, Scott Carter
If you have spent any time in this town or around the University of Florida's campus, you know that running is one of the most popular activities.
A man that played a major role in that development, former Gators track and field coach Jimmy Carnes, lost his nearly four-year battle with prostate cancer on Saturday. Carnes was 76.
“Jimmy Carnes is an icon in the sport of track and field. His contributions to the University of Florida, as well as his sport on a national and international level, have been immeasurable,'' Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said. “Jimmy has been a great advocate of the sport of track and field and an outstanding citizen in the Gainesville community. Our thoughts go out to his wife, Nanette, and his family.”
Carnes was UF's track coach from 1964-76, leading the Gators to a 93-3 record in dual meets and 15 top-three finishes combined in the SEC Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Carnes also made a significant mark in the sport away from UF as founder of the Florida Track Club.
When Carnes first arrived at UF to replace Percy Beard as Florida's track and field coach, he immediately made his presence felt on campus and in the community.
"We put up a sign on my office door," Carnes once told the Gainesville Sun. “It said, 'Track is on the move from California to Florida.'"
Carnes went to work on leading UF's program and making Gainesville a runner's paradise. Along the way, he served as an assistant coach with the U.S. Olympic Team in 1976 and was head coach in 1980 when the U.S. boycotted the Moscow Games. Carnes is a member of the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame.
Current UF track and field coach Mike Holloway said the sport has lost a great ambassador.
“It's a sad day for track and field, not only in Gainesville, but around the world,'' Holloway said. “Jimmy Carnes is an icon who did everything he could to improve the sport. He was innovative, creative and always working to find ways to do things better.
“He will be sorely missed. Jimmy was a true friend and a true Gator.”
A native of Eatonton, Ga., Carnes moved to Gainesville following two seasons as Furman University's head coach. He planted deep roots in the local running community and at UF, where mentored 65 SEC individual champions (indoor and outdoor) and 24 All-America selections. He also coached four individual NCAA Indoor Championships.
Carnes remained heavily involved in track and field after he finished his 12-year run as Florida's head coach, including his election as National Chairman of AAU Men's Track and Field in 1977 and the first president of The Athletics Congress/USA from 1980-84, as USATF was known when it began operations.
Carnes is a member of both the Florida and Georgia Sports Hall of Fames.
He later used his love of track and field to become co-founder of Athletic Attic, a chain of retail sporting goods stores across the country. His partner in that endeavor was former Olympian Marty Liquori, who spoke to the Gainesville Sun on Saturday about Carnes.
“Jimmy encouraged me to move to Gainesville in 1973 after the '72 Olympics,” Liquori told the newspaper. “I was opening a store to sell Adidas and he was selling Tiger shoes from the trunk of his car. We got together and he ran the store when I was running in Europe and I ran the store when he was coaching track.''
Carnes began his collegiate track career as a middle-distance runner at Mercer, where he graduated from in 1956. He later coached at Druid Hills High School in the Atlanta area and at Furman prior to coming to Florida.
Carnes is survived by his wife, Nanette, three sons and a daughter. Memorial services are scheduled for next Saturday.
