[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 24, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E612-E613]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING COACH JOHN CHAPLIN

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL BAUMGARTNER

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 24, 2025

  Mr. BAUMGARTNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a giant--not just 
in Cougar Country, not just in American athletics, but in the world of 
track and field. His name is John Chaplin.
  Born in Los Angeles, educated at WSU, an Army veteran, a professor in 
geography, and a coach in the truest, oldest, most honorable sense of 
the word. From 1968 to 1994, Chaplin transformed WSU from a modest 
program into a global track and field powerhouse.
  Under his leadership, the Cougars captured 19 Top-4 NCAA trophies, 
won 218 All-American honors, and crowned 17 individual NCAA champions. 
His dual-meet record--202 wins to just 15 losses. Nine undefeated 
seasons. Six national dual meet titles. He coached Olympic gold 
medalists, world record holders, and world champions--and he did it not 
in Los Angeles or Austin, but in Pullman, Washington, on the rolling 
hills of the Palouse.
  Chaplin's recruits came from Spokane, Seattle and from all corners of 
the globe--young men chasing opportunity, education, and excellence. 
Henry Rono, Julius Korir, Bernard Lagat--these weren't just track 
stars. They were ambassadors of what college sports can be: 
meritocratic, international, and transformational.
  But Chaplin was more than a coach. He was a statesman of the sport. 
He served as U.S. Olympic Head Coach in Sydney in 2000, where his 
athletes won six gold medals. He chaired the USA Track & Field Men's 
Committee, refereed NCAA and international championships, advised 
federations from Russia to Senegal, and lectured on coaching from 
Argentina to China. He brought honor to his profession and to 
Washington State.
  Mr. Speaker, I must tell you this: The very program he built is being 
hollowed out. Just last week, WSU announced the elimination of field 
events and a dramatic reduction in sprints and hurdles. Of the forty-
five Cougar Olympians, twenty of them came in field events. The legacy 
of Chaplin, and the athletes he coached, is being boxed in by a system 
that no longer rewards broad-based opportunity.
  Yes, these cuts come in the shadow of the House v. NCAA settlement. A 
legal sledgehammer that forces schools like WSU into an unsustainable 
economic model that drains the lifeblood from Olympic sports. Chaplin's 
world record holders? His All-Americans? In today's system, they're 
expendable.
  We can fix this. We must. Not with more lawsuits, not with blank 
checks for the Power Four--but with federal reform that restores 
equity, sustains opportunity, and honors the values that John Chaplin 
stood for.
  If we lose the spirit of Cougar Track, we're not just losing a 
program. We're losing a piece of what college sports was meant to be.

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