Merl Norcross, in the last four decades you have dedicated your
time, energy and enthusiasm to WPI, its athletes and athletics, as
one of the most well-liked and well-respected members of the
Athletic Department staff. Your unselfish efforts have been
conspicuous by their successes.
Your accomplishments as mentor of the WPI men's track and field
team since 1954 are unequaled at the small-college level. You have
directed your charges through 19 consecutive winning seasons. Your
amazing record of 176-96-3 is a tribute to your knowledge of the
sport at WPI and to the talent which you consistently develop into
strong competitors.
Track and field, though, has not been your sole area of coaching
concentration nor the only area in which your presence has made a
difference. From 1952-1962, you directed the men's junior varsity
basketball team with your usual success. You also lent your
experience to the Engineer football team as an assistant coach for
25 years, from 1952 to 1977. Not one to take it easy, you grabbed
the reins as assistant men's cross country coach in 1978, and in
1980 took over the head coaching duties which you still hold.
Nationally, your knowledge of the sport of track and field was
recognized and from 1970 through 1977 you were a respected member
of the NCAA National Track and Field Rules Committee.
An outstanding athlete yourself, you enjoyed a stellar sports
career at Kingston, Pennsylvania, High School, where you starred in
football, basketball and track.
You then matriculated at the University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill, where you played football and ran track. In football,
you played on two Carolina bowl teams, the 1949 Sugar Bowl and the
1950 Cotton Bowl. While a member of the track team, you played an
integral role in leading the Tar Heels to two Southern Conference
championships by running sprints and hurdles.
Merl Norcross, coach and role model, it is with great pride and
distinction that WPI honors you and your achievements, both past
and to come, with your induction as a member of the WPI Athletic
Hall of Fame.
