NOTABLE ALUMNI ATHLETES

The late Bobby Morrow was often called “the greatest sprinter of all time.” At age 21 as an ACU junior, he became the first person since Jesse Owens in 1936 to win three Olympic gold medals in track and field at the 1956 Olympic Games. He was named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year for 1956. In 2005 he was named ACU’s Athlete of the Century.

Delloreen Ennis was a three-time Olympic hurdler (2000, 2004, 2008) for Jamaica. She is the only athlete to win all eight short-hurdle NCAA titles in a career (55 meters indoors and 100 meters outdoors, four times each). Ennis also ran on the Wildcats’ championship 4×100 relay teams in 1998 and 1999 to give her 10 career national titles.

Lance Barrow has won 13 Emmy Awards as coordinating producer of football and golf for CBS Sports, and producer of events from the Masters to Super Bowls, the Olympics, Daytona 500, NCAA Final Four and U.S. Open Tennis Championships. A former ACU trustee, he is a member of the Texas Golf Hall of Fame and was the recipient of the first Gene Sarazen Spirit Award presented by the Professional Caddie Association.

Earl Young is an international business entrepreneur who won a gold medal in the 4×400 relay at the 1960 Olympic Games, and also finished sixth in the 400 meters. At age 19, he was the youngest member of the U.S. track and field team and one of the brightest stars in the sport.

Dr. James Womack is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology at Texas A&M University who mapped the genome for cattle and is a member of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences. The Jim Womack Award recognizes ACU student-athletes who excelled not only on the field or court of play, but also in the classroom, and have gone on to excellence in their professional career.

Wilbert Montgomery was a longtime assistant coach for the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and St. Louis Rams, and is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. He is a former all-pro running back for the Philadelphia Eagles and was that team’s all-time leader in rushing attempts, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.

Former ACU pole vaulter Tobie Hatfield is senior engineer and athlete innovation director of Nike’s Innovation Kitchen think tank.

Professional golfer Alex Carpenter, four-time All-America who twice represented the U.S. on Palmer Cup teams, became the first ACU student to play in a PGA Tour event (2011 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bayhill). He won an NCAA record 20 tournaments in his collegiate career.

Tim Bright was a three-time U.S. Olympian (1984, 1988 and 1992) in the decathlon and pole vault who set the Olympic decathlon pole vault record at the 1988 Games.

Professional golfer Jeev Milkha Singh is a member of the PGA Tour and European Tour, and a former winner of the Asian Order of Merit. Singh is India’s top professional golfer.

Kevin Washington, a top linebacker for the Wildcats who transferred from Notre Dame to earn a master’s degree from ACU, is director of player development for the Longhorn football program at The University of Texas at Austin.

Former running back and defensive back Dr. Rickie Harris is superintendent of West Orange-Cove CISD in Orange, Texas.

Sayon Cooper, twice an Olympian sprinter for Liberia, is the head Olympic track and field coach for his homeland.

Allen Wilson and Hugh Sandifer recently completed careers as two of the top high school football coaches in Texas, and both are inductees to the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor. Wilson played defensive back on an ACU national champion football team and Sandifer was a standout baseball player.

Men’s basketball career rebound leader Andrew Prince was a successful college basketball coach with a long career in public school administration.

Greg Feasel, former All-America football lineman, is executive vice president and chief operating officer of MLB’s Colorado Rockies Baseball Club.

Former basketball letterman Bobby Griffin is vice president of diversity and inclusion at CBRE, the nation’s largest real estate services company.

The late Johnny Perkins played eight seasons as a wide receiver for the New York Giants following an All-America career at ACU, and is the namesake of the high school football stadium in his hometown of Granbury, Texas. Perkins was New York’s second-round pick and 32nd overall in the 1977 NFL Draft.

Quartermiler star Ian Morris, twice an Olympian for Trinidad and Tobago, has been inducted into his country’s Sports Hall of Fame and the Central American and Caribbean Hall of Fame.

Wes Kittley is the head track and field coach at Texas Tech University. He coached ACU to a record 29 NCAA Division II titles (1985-99) before leading his Red Raiders to the 2019 Division I national outdoor championship.

Chris Beard is the head men’s basketball coach at Texas Tech University. He was named Associated Press Coach of the Year after leading his team to the championship game of the 2019 NCAA National Tournament.