Bowling Green State University Athletics
Tom Wright: BGSU Hall Of Fame Inductee
September 12, 2002 | General
Sept. 12, 2002
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University Athletic Hall of Fame will welcome four new members on Friday evening (Sept. 13). The 2002 class will be inducted during a formal dinner on the BGSU campus.
The class of 2002 will include men's soccer player Rob Martella '94, hockey player Greg Parks, women's basketball coach Fran Voll '68 and track athlete and coach Tom Wright, Ph.D. '66.
The official induction ceremony will take place Friday (Sept. 13) in the grand ballroom of BGSU's new Bowen-Thompson Student Union. The social hour begins at 6:00 p.m. with dinner served at 7:00 p.m. and the program starting shortly thereafter.
In addition, the class will be introduced at halftime of Saturday's (Sept. 14) BGSU-Missouri football game at Doyt Perry Stadium. The game begins at 6:00 p.m. and is designated as Varsity BG & Hall of Fame Night.
Tickets for the Friday (Sept. 13) dinner are $30 and advance reservations are required. Tickets can be reserved by calling the Falcon Club office at (419) 372-7063 before the close of business today (Thursday, Sept. 12). Football game tickets can be purchased through the ticket office at 1-877-BGSUTICKET or (419) 372-0000.
The following is the final installment in a series of articles profiling each of the four inductees:
Tom Wright, a native of Trotwood, Ohio, has enjoyed success at BGSU as both an athlete and a coach. The 2001-02 academic year marked his 30th with the Falcon track and field program.
As an athlete, Wright was a three-time All-American, and was part of the Falcons' top mile relay team in school history. The mark of 3:07.5, set in 1966, still stands as the school record. Wright was a member of mile relay teams that captured the MAC title twice, setting a conference record in 1966, and placing in the top six at the NCAA Championships in both 1965 and 1966. He also was a MAC champion in the 440-yard dash.
Wright, who came to BGSU on a combination football/track scholarship, played three years of football for Falcon coach Doyt Perry.
Wright earned both his bachelor's (1966) and master's (1967) degrees from BGSU, and obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Utah in 1973.
He served as an assistant football and head track coach at Dayton Wayne High School, and as head track coach at the University of Illinois-Chicago Circle, before returning to Bowling Green in 1974.
Wright spent seven years as an assistant coach under Mel Brodt, before succeeding Brodt as head coach of the men's track and field program in 1980. He spent 10 years in that role, before returning to an assistant-coaching role. Wright has coached nine All-Americans and 18 MAC champions in his tenure.
In addition to his coaching duties, Wright remains an assistant professor in the School of Family and Consumer Sciences. He and his wife, Shelly, reside in Bowling Green with their daughter, Rylee. Wright also has two grown sons, P.J., who coached track at the University of Akron, and Todd, who was an All-MAC football player at Ball State University.
