Princeton University Athletics
Feature: Samara Headed to National Coaches Hall of Fame
December 15, 2017 | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track and Field
Town Topics (December 13, 2017)
By Bill Alden
A year after ending a brilliant track career that culminated by competing in the decathlon for the U.S. team at the 1976 Summer Olympics, Fred Samara ran into a crossroads.
In deciding what to do with the rest of his life, Samara had the choice of taking a marketing job for a running magazine or becoming an assistant men's track coach at Princeton University.
"I could have moved back to California, which my wife Lorraine and I really wanted to do because that was where the running magazine was," said Samara, who trained for two years in San Jose, Calif. for his Olympics bid.
"I didn't know what to do, but something inside of me just said: take the coaching job."
Listening to his inner voice, Samara took the Princeton job and has never left. Along the way, Samara has guided the Tigers to 41 Ivy League Heptagonal titles, including 20 indoor crowns, 17 outdoor crowns, and four in cross country.
This week, Samara will be one of six coaches to be inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Hall of Fame in Phoenix, Ariz.
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