The Championship Team

Bill came to Ames, Iowa and Iowa State University as head cross country and assistant track coach in 1971 and became head track coach in 1976. Bergan's teams won 10 Big Eight Cross Country team titles and claimed the 1989 and 1994 NCAA Cross Country National Championships. Bergan's ISU track teams captured 15 conference titles, including 10 of the last 15 Big Eight outdoor track crowns. Iowa State was second at the 1990 and 1991 NCAA meets and third in 1993.

The list of athletes who excelled under Bergan include 16 Olympians from six different nations. Bergan's student-athletes achieved All-America honors 110 times and captured 163 Big Eight Conference individual titles. Honored as both a Cross Country and Track & Field NCAA National Coach of the Year, he earned district coach-of-the-year honors 19 times. The USTFCCCA's Midwest Region's Outstanding Men's Cross Country Runner D-I Athlete Award was renamed the 'Bill Bergan Award' starting in 2017.

Bergan was named a member of the ISU Cardinal Key organization, recognizing outstanding leadership, character, scholarship and service to ISU. The Drake Relays Hall of Fame member (1990) was named to the Iowa Association of Track Coaches Hall of Fame in 1984, the University of Northern Iowa Hall of Fame (for his athletic accomplishments) in 1997, the ISU Hall of Fame in 2001, the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame in 2006, the Roy Griak Invitational Hall of Fame in 2015 and the Columbus Catholic High School (Waterloo, IA) Hall of Fame in 2020.

In November 2012, Iowa State University unveiled a life-sized statue of Bill to honor the accomplishments of Bergan-coached teams over his tenure as head track & field and cross country coach at the new Iowa State University Track & Field Facilities; the track was named the Bill and Karen Bergan Track (after Bill's insistence to include his wife Karen).

Championship Productions, the leading producer of coaching and athlete instructional videos in the world, was founded by Bergan in 1976. In 2007, Bill Bergan was awarded the 'Entrepreneur of the Year' award (Ames Chamber of Commerce) for the consistent success and employment opportunities the company brought to the Ames and Central Iowa region the past 40+ years.

Bill and Karen were guardians of a dear friend, Mark Kitchen, for over 30 years. This led Bill to helping direct the track & field portion of the Iowa Special Olympics for many years, culminating in being the Track & Field Commissioner for the first ever USA Special Olympics in 2006. He was also a founding board member of Friendship Ark and served on the board of directors for Mainstream Living.

Bill's faith was paramount throughout his life and at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Ames, he served on the Parish Council, Development Committees and Finance Committees for many years. He was a contributor to many fundraising efforts at both St. Thomas and St. Cecilia School, as well as the Archdiocese of Dubuque, both as a contributor and as an organizer.

Bill Bergan died on Nov 22nd, 2022. He was 80 years old.

Bill spent his recent years enjoying time with friends, family and cheering on his grandchildren in their activities and sports. A lifelong runner, Bill was known to run with his athletes while coaching and he maintained this daily exercise habit until his last day.

More than all of his professional accolades and accomplishments, Bill's love and devotion for his wife Karen, his children and their families plus his siblings and their families was his true passion.

Bill was humble, generous and loving to everyone. His family cherished the way he treated his athletes like sons, in the way he lived with true integrity and especially comforted in the legacy of love he leaves for all of us.