Ken Popejoy (2016) - Hall of Fame - Michigan State University Athletics

Ken Popejoy

Induction:
2016
Class:
1973

Ken Popejoy
Cross Country/Track & Field (1969-73)
Glen Ellyn, Illinois
MSU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2016

HIGHLIGHTS:
• Led the Spartans to a Big Ten Cross Country Championship Team (1970)
• Broke the four minute barrier in the mile and setting the school record with a time of 3:57.0
• Closed out his collegiate career with a fifth-place finish in the mile at NCAA Championship
• In 1972, won the NCAA title in the indoor mile with a time of 4:02.9

HALL OF FAME FEATURE: CLASS OF 2016

Entering high school, Ken Popejoy was lacking in height and weighed less than 100 pounds, so by default, the ninth grader chose cross country. Now, over 50 years later, Popejoy has run himself into the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame, adding to the legacy of the four-time All-American. His list of accomplishments feature a national championship in the mile, multiple individual and team Big Ten titles, and records that remain atop the Spartan track and field leaderboard.

"I'm stunned," said Popejoy. "There are so many people that deserve to be in that Hall of Fame. There are so many who were more accomplished than I was in my career, that this was something that I didn't expect at this stage. I thought maybe someday it would be an amazing honor, but a lot of other people would come before me. So, when I got the phone call from Mark Hollis, I was truly taken aback and got quite emotional about it. It was a special moment."

After an injury-laden freshman season at MSU, Popejoy burst onto the scene in the fall of 1970, leading the Spartans to a Big Ten Championship in cross country. The sophomore finished fourth only to look back in the chute to see four teammates finishing in the top 12 behind him. He went on to finish 20th at the NCAA Championship that season, earning his first All-America accolade.

Michigan State would go on to repeat as Big Ten champions the next fall with Popejoy finishing fourth in the conference again, setting up a historic year for the Spartans. MSU went on to win both the 1972 indoor and outdoor track and field Big Ten Championships that year in addition to the 1971 cross country title, giving the Spartans the "Triple Crown."

"I was probably considered for the Hall of Fame because of my individual accomplishments," said Popejoy. "But, the greatest accomplishment that I ever had in running was being on the Triple Crown team at Michigan State. That was an amazing year.

"I'm now part of another team at Michigan State. The Hall of Fame team. That's what makes it an honor. Not that I was pinpointed individually to be in, but that I'm now in the Hall of Fame family. And it's directionally proportionate to being on the Triple Crown Team and being on the Big Ten Championship cross country team in 1970. My individual stuff is awesome, but the team concepts are the rewarding things and that's what I carry with me as my major accomplishments. It can't be done by yourself when you're part of a team."

Though it's difficult to pick from the long list of accolades, quite possibly the greatest feat of his career is breaking the four minute barrier in the mile and setting the school record with a time of 3:57.0 that still stands today.

The first time Popejoy broke four minutes was his junior year in the spring of 1972 at the Von's Coliseum Classic in Los Angeles. Coming off an NCAA indoor championship, he stepped onto the track with world record holder Jim Ryun, who gave him a little tap and wished him good luck. The gun went off and Popejoy ran into history on the heels of his idol by crossing the finish line in 3:59.7.

"I didn't believe it until I looked at the scoreboard and I said, `I did it.' When you run the mile, you always dream of doing that," said Popejoy. "I was right there for so long, and I got through, and that moment was without question the best moment, knowing that I'm a sub-four minute miler. It's one of those life goals you commit yourself to running the mile in the sport. To add the cherry on top was Jim Ryun saying, `Wow, way to go. Let's go get dinner later.'"

Coming off of two successful years as a sophomore and junior, Popejoy entered his senior season with high expectations. Frustration built throughout much of the cross country and indoor track season and he began to wonder if it was time to give it up. After running a 4:14 split in the mile at the Drake Relays, his coach told him to take a week away from the team and figure things out. The next Saturday, Popejoy showed up to Ralph Young Field for a dual meet with Notre Dame, ready to lay it all out and see what was left in the tank.

What he found was an effort that led to a time of 3:57, setting both the all-time MSU and Big Ten record mile record. Popejoy was officially back and found his stride, as that day began an NCAA record of five consecutive sub-four minute miles in competition, including winning and breaking the Big Ten Championship mile record with a time of 3:59.2.

Popejoy closed out his collegiate career with a fifth-place finish in the mile at NCAA Championships, in which he ran 3:58.5 to wrap up the historic stretch. It all might not have happened had it not been for a four page letter he received during his senior year struggles from his high school coach Jim Arnold. Arnold, his high school coach at Glenbard West in Illinois, was the first freshman to ever letter in track at MSU in 1951. The second was Popejoy in 1970.

"Jim Arnold is like a second father to me," said Popejoy. "He's a person I'm probably the closest to in my whole life because of everything we have shared from 1965 to 2016.

"Without question, I also would like to thank Coach Jim Bibbs. He was another father to me. He was truly one of the nicest men I've ever met in my life. The others are the two seniors on the cross team my sophomore year in 1970, Kim Hartman and Chuck Starkey. They taught me about having fun, relaxing, not being so serious and enjoying ourselves. Herb Washington and Marshall Dill and the other athletes on the team taught me about diversity. They taught me about how you can come from every different background under the sun and end up with a brother. And then, I would like to thank my fellow co-captain in cross country Randy Kilpatrick. Randy and I had four years of deep-seated competition amongst us. We had some unbelievably shared experiences together. We were on two Big Ten Championship teams together and are the best of friends today.

"The constant theme of the Michigan State team, that's what those four years at Michigan State were all about to me. There were some wonderful things individually, but the best moments are all of the team moments. Now, I'm back in the lasting team of the Hall of Fame."