Former Mustang Coach Brooks Johnson Passes Away at 90
7/11/2024 6:00:00 PM | Track and Field
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Brooks Johnson, who served as Cal Poly's head track and field coach from 1993-96, passed away at the age of 90 on June 29.
Johnson's prestigious coaching career spanned more than six decades and in his stint with the Mustangs, he oversaw 45 individual conference champions and 27 Division II All-Americans.
Johnson coached countless Olympic and World Championship level athletes during his legendary career, serving as a member of the Team USA coaching staff for the Olympic Games in 1976, 1984, 2004 and 2008. He was the head women's coach for Team USA at the 1984 Los Angeles
Games and the relays coach for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
One of the most respected coaches in all of track and field, Johnson was inducted into the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame in 1997. He was named USATF Nike Coach of the Year in 2010 and received the 2018 USATF Legend Coach Award — the second former Cal Poly coach to earn the honor after Terry Crawford garnered the praise at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June.
Johnson officially began coaching at the collegiate level in 1975 when he served as an assistant at the University of Florida. In 1979, he became the first African-American head coach at Stanford University and stayed there until he took over the Cal Poly track and field program in 1993.
Johnson was an impressive athlete in his own right. He unofficially tied the intercollegiate record in the 60-yard dash in 1955 with a time of 6.2 seconds at the UConn Relays and won his first international championship medal at the 1963 Pan American Games as a member of the gold-medal winning U.S. 4x100 relay team.
Johnson is survived by his wife and their two sons.
Johnson's prestigious coaching career spanned more than six decades and in his stint with the Mustangs, he oversaw 45 individual conference champions and 27 Division II All-Americans.
Johnson coached countless Olympic and World Championship level athletes during his legendary career, serving as a member of the Team USA coaching staff for the Olympic Games in 1976, 1984, 2004 and 2008. He was the head women's coach for Team USA at the 1984 Los Angeles
Games and the relays coach for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
One of the most respected coaches in all of track and field, Johnson was inducted into the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame in 1997. He was named USATF Nike Coach of the Year in 2010 and received the 2018 USATF Legend Coach Award — the second former Cal Poly coach to earn the honor after Terry Crawford garnered the praise at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June.
Johnson officially began coaching at the collegiate level in 1975 when he served as an assistant at the University of Florida. In 1979, he became the first African-American head coach at Stanford University and stayed there until he took over the Cal Poly track and field program in 1993.
Johnson was an impressive athlete in his own right. He unofficially tied the intercollegiate record in the 60-yard dash in 1955 with a time of 6.2 seconds at the UConn Relays and won his first international championship medal at the 1963 Pan American Games as a member of the gold-medal winning U.S. 4x100 relay team.
Johnson is survived by his wife and their two sons.
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