June 2, 2005

University of Northern Iowa track and field coach Chris Bucknam has been named the 2005 Mondo Division I Midwest Region Men's Coach of the Year, the United States Track and Field Coach Association has announced.

Bucknam guided the Panther men to both indoor and outdoor Missouri Valley Conference championships this season, as well as a program-best eighth-place finish at the NCAA regional meet held last weekend at Norman, Okla. UNI has qualified in six events for the NCAA national meet, which will be held June 8-11 in Sacramento, Calif.

Bucknam, who was also named MVC indoor and outdoor men's coach of the year, has now earned Midwest Region Coach of the Year honors six times, including five of the past six years (1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005). He is finishing his 22nd year at the helm of UNI's men's track and field team.

The USTFCA Coach of the Year awards are sponsored by Mondo, USA, the world's largest supplier of track and field surfaces. Mondo was the official provider of all tracks and equipment for the Track and Field Competitions for the Athens Olympic Games.