Welcome to Knight Talks.

The University of Florida Colleg of Journalism and Communications talk show produced by students for students.

I'm M.J. Holloway, a senior studying media producti And our guest today is the sensational coach, Mike Holloway, head coach of the University of Florida men's and women's track and field and cross-country programs Oh, and by the way, he so happens also to be my dad.

Hi, Coach Holloway.

Thank you for being here today.

Good morning.

Youre very welcome.

Yes, sir.

We're still celebrating Florida recent 2023 NCAA outdoor title.

Go Gators.

Recap how Florida took the championship and all the students and staff that earned this win.

The biggest thing with this cham was kind of unexpected by others, not unexpected by us.

Everybody really bought in and r trusted and believed the process You know, you've heard me talk a a lot throughout your life.

Righ And I think the biggest thing wa is that we just wanted a chance and we talked about it, you know, coming down to the fou And it did.

And we were blessed enough to have the best four by four on the track.

You know, I'm the face of the pr but I can't do this without the sensational staff th and the student athletes.

And it's just a total buy in by everybody involved.

We scored in a lot of events.

We were second in the four by one.

PJ Austin was fifth in the hundred.

We went- Emmanuel Bamidele won the 400, Ryan Willie was second, Jevaughn Powell was seventh, Robert Gregory was fourth in the We won the 4x4.

Malcolm Clemons was fourth in th jump and Sean Dixon-Bodie was fo triple jump.

And those were scores.

And we we scored 57 points to wi by four points over Arkansas who Congratulations again.

-Thank you.

This is your 13th national title in 20 seasons between the 2 prog What are the keys to a champions culture that finds this level of Well, you know, I think it starts with recruitin We have to have the the right at and there has to be a buy in when the athletes get here.

As I mentioned earlier, I have a sensational staff and it requires a buying by them I am a little different.

I expect a little different of myself.

And I expect a little different of my staff.

And so it requires everybody to be on the same page and the s So there are times when everybody doesn't agree.

But when we come together and I say this how we're going t when we walk out of the room, everybody's on the same page and believes in what we're doing and that's why it works.

So there's been a couple of times where the team might not be on top of the world at the indoor national champions or even the SEC meets.

How do you turn that around and program so successful at nationa Well, I think, you know, the fir is that I don't blame the athlet You know, I'm the coach.

So if something goes wrong with the competition and the first person I have to look is myself.

And so if something goes wrong, I figure out what it is, I go to the staff, and then we take whatever change we want to make to the athletes and we roll from there.

Plus, by that time of year, especially when we're outdoors, the landscape's kind of been set so we know what we have to do an just a matter of getting ready t In high school, you ran track yo -A long time ago.

It was a long time ago but you also won a state champio Who introduced you to the sport and what goals that you have for My Aunt Liz, my mother's baby sister, saw me racing my friends in the neighbo and she thought I'd like track a So she said, hey, let's go to a track meet.

Ironically, the first thing I sa when I walked into the meet was pole vaulting.

So he comes down the runway and sticks the pole in the ground.

He vaults in the air and he come on the bar between his legs.

Rig I'm like, I don't want to do track and field, right, you know But she's like, That's not what it's about.

And, you know, I was hooked and I had no expectations.

I had no idea where track would I didn't know much about it.

And as I got older and matured and became more successful in th I really, I just grew to love it.

And it's just what I do.

Yeah.

Where did it all begin for you?

When did you know that coaching was going to be something of you I have a very good friend of min Mrs. Terry Davis.

And I was working at a place here in town called Taco Nacho and just, you know, not doing much with my life.

And she came to me and said she was starting a youth track c and she wanted me to coach the hurdles.

And at first I was like, I don't have time.

And then she was like, No, you're going to coach my hur And so I go out, I start coaching the hurdles and within three, four or five w I was coaching the whole team and it was just, man, it was jus something that was invigorating.

I just love and a passion for it and I've never lost it.

It was just amazing.

And so, I still have that same passion.

I told you this before if I ever wake up in that passio is gone, Im going to turn my ke But so far we're hanging in there.

Were hanging in there.

You became the assistant coach o UF men's track and field team in while at the same time you were getting your bachelor's degree.

What is the day to day of an assistant coach involved a difficult managing academics as well?

It was difficult at times, but it was required.

I was at the point in time in my where I knew that as I tell you guys, you know, you hang your spikes up, you have to have something to fall back on.

And I had violated that rule, be I didn't have my degree at the t And if I knew that if I wanted to be a successful p and have a successful life, that I needed to get my degree.

And, you know, you weren't born yet, but I mean your sister was here and I knew I had to take better care And so that was part of my process of bettering myself so I could make sure you guys had a good life.

Your degree was in history.

What drew you to that field of study?

Your Uncle Ed, my high school coach: history major.

It makes sense now, right?

I mean, you know, he's like my d You know me, we have these conversations and I'm a kind of a history buff when it comes to a lot of things And history is very interesting.

It was just kind of something that captured my imagination and when I'm doing papers or doing maps and stuff like that, you know, it was something that I could di I didn't just want to get a degr to have a degree.

I wanted to have a degree in som that had interests for me.

And so that's why I chose history.

Was history always your passion, major?

Or did you switch it up?

You know, my initial thought when I was yo I thought I was going to be a lawyer, and that didn't work out.

And then I actually was studying special education.

And then just when I got the job I was at Buchholz High School and I was working on a special education degree.

And when I got here, the demands of that degree did not allow me to, you know, b assistant coach at the same time I couldn't leave campus and go do an internship over at high sc you know, for 4 hours a day.

So that's why I changed to history.

Being a history major, how does it translate to the tra The thing that I learned from history is one, history repeats and people don't understand that.

And the other thing is two if yo and you're studying history and delve into the wars that happene and the conflicts that happened, in order to solve those conflict had to sit down and come to an a If you were a major or a general and you got whipped, you had to go back and figure ou how to win the next war, right?

So I've taken that kind of minds with my track and field coaching If we have a bad meet, if I come and do the same things again, we going to have another bad meet.

So when things go wrong, I come back and I fix them.

You've heard me say, Hey, I've g shoulders, that's my fault, I'll And so I think history taught me that.

Back in 2012, we just won our third national title, and a friend of mine called me and he goes, Don't get used to t Its cyclical.

It's going to go away.

It doesn't have to go away.

And so that was my thing is, you like I said, history repeats its And historically, when I'm done with the University of Florida, I want that legacy to be that we were always, you know, prepared to do our bes when it counted the most.

In 2002, you became the head coa in the UF men's track and field later also becoming the head coa of the women's team in 2007.

Do you see advantages to being a combined program?

There's huge advantages to being combined.

So if you're a single gender pro so you've got three coaches trying to coach 21 events for th and three trying to coach 21 for Well, you bring everybody togeth now you get six to spread across all the event areas.

Now everybody gets more attentio You dont have to be on the track as long.

You still have to be out there all day, but not quite as long.

And the biggest thing is that, you know, now you have six sets of eyes versus three.

And again like I talked about earlier, the key to that is everybody be on the same page.

And so as long as we all have the same passion, the same drive the same goals for what we want of the program, then it works re How does that translate to the s athlete experience?

Every athlete gets personalized attention now.

So I don't have a field event co that is trying to coach the long jump, the triple jump, the high the shot put, the discus, the po Right?

So I've got a throws coach, I ha jumps coach, and now we have the to hire somebody to come in and assist them in certain areas.

You know, I don't have one distance coach.

We have two distance coaches now.

So at the end of the day it enhances the student athletes experience because they get personalized attention in very close detail to what their events are.

What are some highlights from your time leading these teams and working with these student a The biggest highlight for me is just watching, you know, watching young folks get better.

You know, having that aha moment whether it's a guy that, you know, comes here as a 21 foo becomes a 51 foot triple jumper, Whether it's a guy that, you kno it's a walk on that ends up being an all-Americ You know, just watching those ex watching people figure it out and, you know, and you know me.

Practice is the best time for me.

Watching people work hard and figure things out during pra is, you know, the best part of m Thats the biggest thing right there.

You've always told me growing up practice makes permanent, not pe Where did that come into play for you and how do you translate it into your every life.

I'm not going to act like I made that up.

I'm sure I read that someplace.

You know me.

I read a lot, right And I think the biggest thing fo with that is, well, its a true When you hear that, you know, you think, wow, you know, it mak You know, like you've heard me say, you walk the way you walk because you do it every day.

You talk the way you talk because you do it everyday.

Now you can change that.

It'll take time.

But so again, it makes it permanent.

So when we're doing things in pr we talk about the little things and it's the little things that, as I tell you guys all the time, the little things win championsh It's the little things that you ingrain in your every day practices that show up when it matters the What people don't understand is typically in high intensity s the mistakes you make in a game or something when you're really are the same mistake you make in practice when you're So if you learn not to make the mistakes in practice when you're then you won't make them in a co I never thought about it like that.

Why is UF a great place to call home?

Why do athletes move halfway across the country to be a part of your track and field program?

Well now winning is contagious, right?

I think that's the biggest thing I mean, you know, great athletes aren't going to go be a part of a program where theyre not winning.

And then our academic record here is incredible.

Its just the total student athlete experience at the University of Florida is incredible.

We have great academics, we have great academic support.

Youre track and field athlete.

I mean, our baseball team is pretty good.

Our basketball team, football, you know, golf just won a national championship.

You know, swimming's good.

So it's just a total athlete experience where there's multiple sports here are good.

So when you go sit down in the d hall, it's just like, okay, well the track team is good and everybody else not very good Everybody's good here.

So that adds to the experience.

And we have a wonderful, you kno athletic department with Scott S and Linda Tealer, and the folks there are very supportive of wha We have a phenomenal strength pr with Matt Delancy and his crew.

And, as you know, Lauren and her crew downstairs in the training room.

The academic support, the athlet the whole experience with lots of teams being good he makes it hard for people to turn As head coach, how do you think and interact with sports media?

How do you advise athletes on the topic of interacting with media in terms of like soci posting and stuff like that?

Cautiously.

You know, once you push the send button, even if you try to take it back, its still out there somep And I don't think people understand that.

And you know me well enough to k that one, we're going to remain You know, us, we're not the team that's bragging.

We're not the team is poking at other peop We're not the team that's out th trying to tell people how great Our actions, our performances wi people, you know, that's all we And at the end of the day, my issue with social media is th I call it cyber courage.

People say things in social media that they would never say to people face-to-face.

What are some of the different challenges you've had to face in terms of interviewers, reporters?

You know, I mean, you just won a national title, so I'm sure you had a bunch of p try to ask you a bunch of questi I think that probably lots of the media think I'm boring because they try to probe me to to predict things, to try to pro to get me to be, you know, like said, Hey, you can be arrogant n No, I can't.

That's not who I am.

I'm not going to be Pat Riley and guarantee we're going to win again next ye I'm not going to do that.

I'm not going to be the guy that, you know, standing up ther pounding my chest talking about how great we are.

So when the media comes to me, I'm a very bland, very, you know, kind of even keeled guy.

And so the challenge is with me is for them to understand that I'm not going to be the braggy, I'm not going to be arrogant, I'm not going to be conceited, I'm not the guy you get a lot of great quotes from probably.

Thats probably why they don't like me, but as long as they're respectful, I answer the questions.

I don't turn any of the media aw because I do think that we do ne to make sure that the student athletes get celebrated here.

You know, I'm the face of the pr so a lot of people talk to me.

But I haven't crossed the finish line a long time and it will be a long time again before I do cross one.

So they need to get their credit as well.

Buchholz High School, here in Ga recently named their track after What does that honor mean to you?

It's just an incredible honor.

And when I first got the call months and months ago, and they asked me would I be okay with it.

I'm like, yeah, why would I not be okay with it?

And as the time approached, the ceremony went on and you know, your mom and I went out there to the track that day and I saw all these people I hadn't seen i It was just the best feeling.

And then were walking around th and your mom goes, look.

And I look up and I see my name.

And that's when it hit me.

I get the chills right now thinking about it.

And it's a tribute to all the pe that, again, my support system I had it Buchholz High School, the principals, assistant princi teachers out there, the athletes that came out every and worked hard to help us be successful at Buchholz High S Its the same thing, I didnt cross the finish line out there So when you were at Buchholz, you were coaching more cross-country- cross-country and track, as well.

And I know cross country had a lot of success but what's the difference between coaching high school athletes verus college athletes.

Well, first Ill tell you, we had like success in both.

You know, we won four state titl so don't put the track folks dow But I think the biggest differen with colleges, I think that coll is more difficult because, see, when you're in high school, you When you're in high school, you your parents are regulating when and when you sleep, and when you get up.

When you come to college, nobody's regulating that.

So in high school, and in colleg okay, I have you guys like 2 or 3 hours a day, at least 21 other hours, right.

So when you were in high school, the 21 hours you go home to your When you're in college, I don't know what you guys are d So a lot of prayer that you guys listening to us and doing the ri and taking care of your bodies and eating well and all that stu But what it comes down to, I thi you know, there's an expectation You know, you guys all understan that, that, you know, we have a standard that we fight to every day.

And because of that standard, I don't think any you guys want to be the one to mess it up.

Beyond just working with just collegiate athletes, you also have a group of profess athletes that you coach as well.

Talk about how it is managing so many different athletes on so many different schedules.

Well, I think the biggest thing is track and field is track and field.

And I tell people this all the time.

So if you're a collegiate athlet and we're trying to get us to pe in May or June, if you're post-c athlete, then you're peaks in Ju So I just move everything back a month.

It's not hard.

It's not rocket science.

It gets messed up and people want to tweak it.

We got to do this.

We got to do No, just do what you've been doi Just take your program and move it back.

So if I'm coaching you and we have a great year and I had you ready to be at you absolute best in June and I need you to be best in Aug So what should I change?

Just move everything back two months.

And it worked, right?

Can you talk about the difference in coaching, you know, professional athletes the other team.

I think the biggest thing with the professional athletes kind of the same difference is like, okay, so when you're the collegiate at you have this incredible support You know, we talked about Coach we talked about Yolanda, we talk about the nutritionist that we have here.

When you become a professional a then you have to go out on your find those things sometimes, and to be even more diligent to your because you don't have the Unive of Florida support system behind And I think the biggest differen is when you become a professiona now that's your paycheck.

You know, when you're at University of Florida, you know that you're going to ge that stipend twice a semester ri Then now, when youre a professional athle your performance dictates how well you eat or don't eat.

In 2012 Olympics, you coached the Team USA sprinters and relay teams.

Tell us about that experience and the role you played towards those athletes medaling.

I played no role whatsoever in those athletes medaling.

It was incredible experience.

I saw some things that I'd never seen before in my but I need people to understand that as the Olympic coach really unless you have athletes there yourself, and I was blessed to have, you know, some athletes there.

But unless you have athletes there yourself, you're just a glorified babysitter.

You know, and it's amazing to me the people that think, oh, you k so and so coached, you know, Tyson Gay.

Tyson Gay has to coach.

And so my job as the Olympic spr coach in 2012 was to make sure the coaches had what they needed make sure they got, you know, all the stuff they needed for their athletes to be success That's your role as U.S. track and field coach.

Fast forward to about 2020, you return to the Olympics and you became the head coach of track and field team.

Was this Olympics any different considering everything that happ in terms of being on a different continent, plus the pandemic?

Oh, it was very challenging.

Getting up and getting tested ev morning.

Getting up and, you kno riding on busses with people when you're not sure, you know, if you contract this, you know, very serious disease that was go I think the biggest thing was to like going to the stadium.

There's nobody in there, right?

It was just- The Olympics, I can remember, man, way back in 2000 going to the Olympic Games, and going to a morning session a the stadiums like 100,000 peopl You know, it was, like, just amazing.

So having walked into a stadium and it's the people on the track and nobody else there was kind of different.

But I think the biggest thing wi that was that will be the Olympi that I will remember the most because those group of athletes had to face a set of challenges nobody will ever understand.

We had a guy that was favored to the pole vault who had isolated contract the disease, and then so he couldn't compete.

So he lost an opportunity.

You can never get that back.

How did you prepare those athlet for that, knowing that there was going to be any fans, knowing that they had to get tested ever How did you prepare your coachin and the support system and those athletes for that?

What we talked about was just be you know, diligent but patient with people, understanding that everybody handled it differently And so just because I thought it to do something, if somebody sai hey, coach, I don't want to be a that many people, I want to do this this way so that I'm more comfortable wit then it was my job to make them feel comfortable.

It wasn't my job to say, Hey, ev going to do this exact same way.

And that's just not the way the world works except everybody handled it diff you know?

So we just had to let people be themselves, get into a comfor that allowed them to compete at a high level.

Thats good.

The Olympic Games are the big sh on the planet with international athletes and round the clock broadcasts.

Were media obligations at that level more demanding?

Typically, they could be, but because of the pandemic they It wasn't as much you know.

We had a couple of Zoom calls.

We had a couple of, you know, phone things, but ther any mass gathering with the media during the Tokyo Olympics.

Lastly, could you tell us whether life is a sprint or a marathon, and what advice would you give to us that helped you reach your goals?

One: life is absolutely a marath that has a few sprints along the There are times in life where you have to, you know, speed things up and you have to get things done.

But most importantly, even during that sprint, you have to that I'm glad to slow down and let this process take place.

I think that's the biggest mista people make in life, is that the and they want to be the best at when they're not close to that y So do you have the patience to w diligently every day, take the steps to become a bette to become a better athlete?

And a lot of people don't want to do that.

A lot of people want to just wal in the door and be the world cha It's just not that simple.

You know, a lot of people want t you know, we have people talk about a time Well I'm going to be a millionai You dont even have a job, right So let's let's get a job first, You know, so that kind of thing.

So I think the biggest thing for is that my patience and my ability to kind of foreca what the future could look like if we take certain steps helps m And the other thing is, you know I don't panic.

I don't worry about things.

You know, as your grandpa used t pray about everything, worry about nothing, right?

So that's who we are.

And you're going to have bumps in the road.

Instead of looking at that bump you know, Oh, my God, the world's coming t Got two choices.

You can smooth You can walk around it, but, you you can't just stop.

You're a 13-time national champion.

If you could pick one moment, one race, one moment that was li and you would never forget.

Im sure there's a bunch.

That one key moment that you're Im really happy for this athlet I will never forget that.

What would that moment be?

Okay, can I answer that from the personal side first?

Right?

So like the two biggest moments were being in the room when your sister was born, and when you were born.

And nothing will ever trump that.

When it comes to the athletic side, winning my first championship as a high school coach.

You know, I can remember state championship of cross country and I thought we'd won but everybody wanted to wait to the trophy ceremony, so they kept hiding the scores from me.

Right?

So that was a great moment.

And then, you know, another great moment was when we won our first indoor cha You know, you were a little guy.

I don't know if you remember, that was back in 2004.

So you were really a little guy.

And being able to celebrate that with you and your mom was was aw I'm going to ask you- I know Ive asked you this questio a couple of times, but if you co your all time Florida four by fo Why are you doing this?

-...whos on it?

Can I plead the fifth on that on -Aboslutely not.

Okay, well, Lets see: Ryan Willie, Champion Allison... You're not being fair.

It's just two more.

I mean, I guess you just got to the all time list and put- Well, there's no way Arman Hall is not on there, righ There's no way Arman Hall doesnt make it.

You can put Clermont Clemon, Grant Holloway?

Who are you putting for that last leg?

Grant Holloway.

-Grant Holloway?

Yeah.

-Is that in order?

No, I have to think about the or We have to get to the meet, see what's on the line, that kind of thing, to decide th So I have a question.

What has been your biggest challenge being my son, growing up here in Gainesville?

I would say my biggest challenge trying to put too much pressure You know, you talked about earli that life is a marathon with a couple of sprints in it.

And I was trying to sprint from the beginning thinking I'm going to make it to the end.

So I say my biggest challenge was realizi I might not be the best athlete but I could be if I work hard.

You know, you saw that allows me high school basketball, you know I was on JV my freshman year.

And I ended up being a starter my sophomore year and as coach s probably one of the best guards to come through his program.

So just realizing that you have a lot of success and trying to make my own story was probably my biggest challeng So, besides the championships and everything else of that natu what kind of legacy does Mike Holloway want to leave here at U I just want to leave a legacy that people know that I wanted to, one, make this place better.

And two, that I wanted every ath that came to the track or feel p to know they were loved, to know they were respected and to know that we did everythi to help them when they walked off this campus to be successful in That's the legacy I want to leave here.

I don't want anybody to ever fee like they came here and got shor And Ive got one more for you.

Oh, ok. -Track and field can be grueling You know, I see you leave early come back late days.

Ive noticed that you took up bo as a little bit of a hobby to get away from that.

Talk about how that's helped you kind of step away and go into a different Mike Holloway.

Well, I think the biggest thing is, you know, more than most, I'm a very competitive guy.

And bowling has allowed me to be years old, I can compete at some And it's very challenging at times.

It's very frustrating at times, but it allows me to have that ou where I can go and compete and you'll just not talk about track The wonderful thing here is that there's a lot of great bowlers in the co and they've accepted me as a bow I think the first six months or a lot of people didn't even know until we were bowling one night and the NCAA indoor meet came ov and they're like, Hey, I know that guy, you know.

But bowling allows me to do, you know, it's a safe place for I can go there, I can go by myself and, you know, bowl for an hour and a half, 2 hours and clear my Or sometimes I go with friends.

Sometimes I go with you.

And then I bowling a couple of w during the fall and from the fall into the early So bowling been great for me.

It really has And it's easy on my Achilles.

Thank you for your insight, Coac I think that the viewers should that I already knew was that no matter how many championships you win and how great of a coach I know that you are, that you're of the most humble people on thi Thank you.

I appreciate that.

I appreciate you for taking your time today.

And thank you to our viewers for joining us.

Until next time, goodnight.