NEW ORLEANS – Former LSU track and field coach Irving “Boo” Schexnayder is headed to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross County Coaches Association Coaches Hall of Fame as a member of the 2025 class, the association announced Tuesday morning.
Schexnayder, and five other coaches, will be officially inducted into the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame on Thursday, December 18 in Grapevine, Texas, at the annual USTFCCCA convention. The group of coaches are being honored for their accomplishments and contributions to the sport of cross country and/or track and field.
“This is a well-deserved and earned award for Coach Boo,” said head coach Dennis Shaver. “The LSU staff sends our congratulations to him on this accomplishment.”
The Louisiana native is well known for his 18 years of coaching at LSU, and has totaled over 40 years of experience in coaching and consulting.
Schexnayder has been the mastermind behind 26 NCAA champions and over 70 All Americans in his collegiate coaching career, and is one of the most successful field event coaches in NCAA history. He was a part of 12 NCAA championship teams during his first tenure at LSU, tutoring past Tiger greats like Derrick Prentice, Suzette Lee, Levar Anderson, Russ Buller, Marcus Thomas, Walter Davis, Keisha Spencer, Hareldau Argyle, Gretchen Francois, Lejuan Simon, Nicole Toney, Monique Freeman, Claston Bernard, Megan Akre, Daniel Trosclair, Bianca Rockett, and John Moffitt.
He coached Spencer to the Honda Award as the nation’s top female Track and Field athlete in 2000, and coached Davis to SEC Athlete of the Year honors in 2002. He became one of only a handful of coaches who have coached a 1-2-3 sweep in a national championship meet when the Tiger triple jumpers captured the top three spots on the podium, leading the Tiger men to the 2004 NCAA indoor title.
His collegiate coaching career began with successful stints at Blinn College and Louisiana-Lafayette. At Blinn he was a part of two Juco national titles, and as a member of the Cajun staff coached several All Americans, including NCAA triple jump champion Ndabe Mdhlongwha.
He has also been a force on the international scene, having coached triple jumper Walter Davis to world indoor and outdoor championships, and long jumper John Moffitt to silver in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. He has coached 11 Olympians, and has served on coaching staffs for Team USA to the 2003 Pan Am Games in Santo Domingo, the 2006 World Junior Championships in Beijing, and was the Jumps Coach for Team USA at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. His return to the Tiger staff in 2017 was highlighted as he coached Jake Norris to a World Championship in the U-20 Hammer throw.
Schexnayder will join five other LSU coaches that have been inducted into the hall of fame: Dennis Shaver (’21), Dan Pfaff (’18), Billy Maxwell (’15), Pat Henry (’04) and Bill McClure (’02).
Started in 1995, the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame exists to recognize coaches who have brought great distinction to themselves, to their institutions and to the sports of cross country and track & field. Each of the honorees exemplifies the qualities of dedication to the sport, leadership and passion for their profession and serves as an inspiration to coaches everywhere.
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