In 1976, Bill Bergan wrote and edited five track and field books in an effort to help coaches teach the
various skills, techniques, and training of track and field - Sprints & Hurdles, Distance Running, Jumps, Throws and Weight Training. With these publications, "Championship Productions" was born.
Championship Productions, led by co-founders Bill and Karen Bergan, grew from serving coaches in one sport to producing "state of the art" instructional books and videos in 20 sports! The demand for Championship Productions' high quality coaching videos quickly dominated the coaching market. Over four decades later, Championship Productions continues to be the "World's leading producer of coaching and athlete instructional video products!"
When the Bergan family began Championship Productions, Bill was the Men's Track and Cross Country Coach at Iowa State University.
During his 20 plus years at Iowa State, Bergan's teams won 10 Conference Cross Country titles, won the NCAA Championship team titles at the 1989 and 1994 NCAA Cross Country Championships and were second at the NCAA Championships in 1990 and 1991 and placed third in 1993. Bergan's ISU track teams captured 15 conference titles, including 10 of the last 15 Conference outdoor track crowns.
During his coaching career, Bergan was honored as both National Cross Country and National Track & Field Coach-of-the-Year. He is a member of Drake Relays Hall of Fame and was named to the Iowa Association of Track Coaches Hall of Fame in 1984, the University of Northern Iowa Hall of Fame in 1997, the Iowa State University Hall of Fame in 2001, and the United States Track & Field Coaches Hall of Fame in 2006. He was also one of two coaches inducted into the Roy Griak Invitational inaugural Hall of Fame class in 2015 (the other coach was Roy Griak). Bergan's list of outstanding athletes includes 16 Olympians and 110 athletes who achieved All-America honors and won 163 individual Conference titles.
