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Dorian Ulrey anchored the fourth place relay team.

By Brandie Glasnapp

Winning eight consecutive Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Indoor Championships and two of the last three outdoor titles has turned Chris Bucknam’s focus toward an even higher goal: national recognition.

“I would not have said this in my fifth year of coaching,” said UNI’s Director of Running Programs who enters his 25th year in command this fall. “But now we are focused on not only winning the conference meets but putting a team together that can win a national championship.”

He admits the chances of UNI taking a national crown are slim, but lives by the basic principle that if you don’t talk about it, it is not going to happen. The Panthers’ odds are much better than one might expect from a mid-size Division I team located in northeast Iowa.

The UNI men finished ninth at the 2007 Indoor National Championships, its highest finish ever, and a mere 6.5 points from fourth place. The Panthers were ahead of national powerhouses Baylor, LSU, and Tennessee, and five individuals and two relays earned all-America honors.

True freshman Dorian Ulrey anchored the fourth place distance medley relay and was amused—and motivated—by some comments he heard from people in the crowd.

“I kept hearing from time to time ‘Who is UNI?’ Ulrey said. “I think if we won a national title the next three years in a row, we would still be an underdog in some people’s minds.”

UNI’s recent performance at the 2007 Drake Relays is another example of the track and field team’s ability to dominate. The Panthers brought home three individual event and two relay championships, as well as finishing only a stride behind Baylor in the sprint medley relay.

According to Bucknam, it all starts with recruiting.

“There is no common formula—every kid, every situation is different,” Bucknam said. “You are only as good as your next recruiting class. Recruiting is the name of the game at this level.”

Ulrey’s decision to compete as a Panther was not an easy one, as he had scholarship offers from across the country; UNI’s campus and the coaching staff made it much less confusing. Coming from a relatively small high school in Port Byron, Ill., he was attracted by the compactness of the campus. He also felt a strong connection with the coaching staff.

“As soon as I met them, I knew there was no other staff that was going to be as fun as those guys and help me get to where I wanted to be,” Ulrey said. “It was their humor and the way they carried themselves.

“For example, on the bus ride back from outdoor conference Coach Geopfert started rapping to Vanilla Ice. No other coach in the country will do that.”

In regard to knowledge, the diversity in Bucknam’s coaching staff helps land top recruits and develop them when they get to UNI. Associate head coach Doug Case, a former Panther athlete, deals mainly with the sprinters and pole vaulters; assistant Travis Geopfert, another UNI graduate who has experience in international competition, is the leader of the multi-events; and assistant Renetta Seiler, former Kansas State all-American, heads up the throws department.

“They are great teachers and outstanding recruiters. If I didn’t have the coaches that I have we wouldn’t be talking about all this,” Bucknam said. “If I have done anything right, it is put together a good staff.”

Bucknam is pleased to have the majority of his roster composed of Iowa athletes and said he is grateful for their help in introducing their out-of-state and international teammates to Iowa culture and values.

“It would be very difficult if I had all out-of-state kids like some programs have,” he said. “It would take an unbelievable amount of emotional energy to sell them on the importance of even an MVC meet or being the top team in the state.

“By having Iowa kids there is a sense of pride to do well nationally and even internationally, because of the pride of the home state, home school. It is in our fabric.”

Most of all, Bucknam attributes the success of his program to the quality of education that UNI offers and delivers to student-athletes.

“We are a product of all the professors and academic programs on campus. We are product of our president, administration and faculty,” he said. “You don’t get to that level unless the core purpose is that good. Our core purpose is obviously to educate our kids and our national rankings are a reflection of our academic institution.”

Maintained by the UNI Alumni Association
Last Modified: July 11, 2007