Central Michigan University Athletics
Local Success Story
10/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Oct. 7, 2003
By Scott Pettett
Assistant Sports Information Director
From sneaking into Alumni Field as a kid to coaching a Mid-American Conference championship squad, men's cross country head coach Craig Fuller is the epitome of a local success story.
Fuller grew up in the shadows of Warriner Hall and, even as a kid, CMU played role in his life.
"I have always loved it here at CMU," the Mount Pleasant native said. "For some reason, when I was in the third grade, I knew a lot of students at the school. They would always take me to baseball games or we would sneak into Alumni Field and watch football games. Ever since then, I thought it was the coolest place and I did not want to go anywhere else."
After graduating from Mount Pleasant High School, Fuller continued his education on the other side of Mission Road, donning the Maroon and Gold as a cross country and track team member. In 1979, he captured All-MAC honors in cross country and followed that up with All-MAC laurels in track and field in 1980.
The CMU grad then went on to several different coaching stints. While training for the Olympics, many of his coaching exploits were at the high school level. He also served briefly as the cross country coach at CMU in the early 80's.
"It was cool to be a part of the marathon Olympic trials," Fuller said. "But, where I really wanted to be was on the track. I was 56th in the marathon and it was fun but it wasn't as big a deal as running trials on the track or being a college All-American."
Fuller was a high school coach in Phoenix, Arizona, when he got a call from track and field head coach Jim Knapp, asking him to return to CMU to coach the cross country team. Getting back to Mount Pleasant and coaching was a mix he felt he couldn't pass up.
"It's way more fun coaching than being an athlete," the 2002 MAC "Coach of the Year" points out. "I've learned a lot since I was a runner and now I hope to pass on the knowledge to my athletes in hopes that they become better runners and maybe even All-Americans.
"Plus, I love CMU. I was able to come back home, coach, and get paid to run."
His love of the Chippewas has pervaded into his job. Since Fuller took the helm 15 years ago, the Chippewas have never finished lower than fourth in the MAC. In fact, the team has become one of, if not the top program in the MAC. Fuller has coached six All-Americans, and in 2002 CMU captured ninth at the NCAA championships, its best finish ever.
