Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2010
Tom Pagani set the school record in the hammer throw of 200 feet, 5 inches, in 1960, a record that still stands 60 years later. He captured the NCAA Divisions I and II titles in the hammer throw in 1961, the first of nine Mustangs to earn Division I titles. He also placed third in the shot put at the Division II finals in 1961.
Pagani was a four-time National AAU All-Around champion (1957, 1958, 1959 and 1962), competed on the 1961 USA National Team, competed internationally in 1964 and competed in numerous national championships. Pagani also competed in the 1960 and 1964 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Pagani has coached track and field at numerous levels – as an assistant coach at Columbia (1964-66), Cornell (1966-74), Illinois (1974-77) and Indiana (1977-79). He spent three years as field coach at Stanford (1980-82) before moving on as a head coach of the women's track and field team at Fresno State from 1983-99 and as head or assistant coach for several national track and field teams.
Pagani coached 17 years at Fresno State and led the Bulldogs to Big West titles in 1987, 1988, 1991, and 1992 and the WAC indoor crown in 1994. While at Fresno State, Pagani coached 52 conference champions and 39 All-America honorees. His achieved a career dual meet record of 134-30-1, and was inducted into the Fresno State Hall of Fame in 2000. He worked at Fresno Pacific from 2000 until his retirement following the 2012 season.
Pagani served as an assistant women's coach for the United States in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea. His resume also includes an impressive list of national and international experience. In 1982, he was an assistant coach for the U.S. International team competing against the USSR and East Germany. The following year he was the head coach of the U.S. junior men’s team that defeated Italy and Canada, and coached the men’s West Team in the National Sports Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was on the Team U.S.A. coaching staff for the World University Games in Zagreb, Yugoslavia in 1986.
He has produced numerous instructional videos, has lectured at clinics throughout the country and also has written a book, "Javelin Throw with Tom Pagani."
Pagani, a native of New York City, graduated from Cal Poly in 1962 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. Pagani and his wife, Diane, have four children.
