Spec Towns Named To USTFCCCA Collegiate Hall Of Fame

NEW ORLEANS, La. --- Bulldog and Olympic legend Forrest "Spec" Towns has been included to the Collegiate Track & Field/Cross Country Athlete Hall of Fame Class of 2025, according to an announcement from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Towns won an Olympic gold medal, two NCAA individual championships and five Southeastern Conference individual titles, led the Bulldogs to the 1937 SEC team crown and guided the program as head coach from 1938 to 1975.  He is the first Georgia track and field team member to be named to the Hall of Fame.

The class of 12 includes six men and six women, including student-athletes who competed from anywhere from 1934 to 1999 and who hailed from four different countries.  The group will be enshrined on Sunday, June 8, at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts in Eugene, Ore.  The free ceremony will be held prior to the start of the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships (June 11-14) and will also be streamed for free on RunnerSpace.com.

This year's class features some of the greatest names in collegiate track & field and cross country history.  With 55 national collegiate titles, 17 collegiate records, eight Olympic/World Championships medals and six world records while in college, these student-athletes have left an indelible mark on the sport.

The Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame was established in 2022 to honor the best of the best in collegiate track & field and cross country. The Hall of Fame recognizes the achievements of student-athletes who have left a lasting mark on the sport during their time in college.

Towns, a native of Fitzgerald, Ga., won two NCAA titles for Georgia in the 120-yard/110-meter hurdles, becoming the event's first two-time winner (1936-37).  His 1936 undefeated season was magnificent, setting or tying the world record six times en route to winning the Berlin Olympic gold.  The Berlin preliminaries was the site of one of his six WRs, but his final mark came later that summer with an incredible 13.7 in Oslo.  That performance not only made him the first sub-14 hurdler in history, it also shattered the record by 0.4 seconds, which is still the largest single improvement on the WR.  His 13.7 WR was not improved on for almost 14 years.

During his prime, Towns won more than 60 races in a row in one of the most challenging events.  The All-American was later induced into Georgia's state Hall of Fame in 1967, the USATF Hall of Fame in 1975 and the University of Georgia Athletic Association's Circle of Honor in 1997.  UGA's track and field facility was named for Towns at a dedication ceremony during the 1990 SEC Championships in Athens.

The current Bulldogs will begin the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas, on Thursday and the meet will continue through Saturday.

Where To Find Bulldogs News
Results and recaps from the Bulldogs' indoor season will be found at georgiadogs.com.  News and updates from Georgia's track and field and cross country teams are always located on X/Instagram at @UGATrack.

University of Georgia Athletics

Spec Towns Named To USTFCCCA Collegiate Hall Of Fame

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