March 14, 2006

COLUMBIA, Mo. - A good early-spring day, a good day to start the outdoor track and field season, and a good day for Missouri Track & Field Head Coach, Dr. Rick McGuire. Coach McGuire was surprised Tuesday during a team meeting as Shawn Deaver along with University Staff Advisory Council members and members of the Mizzou Athletic Administration presented McGuire with the Mick Deaver Memorial Award. The award, established in 1980, honors a university staffer each year that exemplifies Deaver's concern for fostering good relations with students.

Shawn Deaver, the son of late University Police Major Mick Deaver, announced McGuire had won the award in front of the Tiger squad. "My father was a man who related well with the students at this University," Weaver would say to the team. "Coach McGuire not only does great things for the students of this University and relates well to them, but he also does an amazing job as an ambassador of this University. My father would have been proud of what Coach McGuire represents and I am proud to present him with this award."

Deaver was killed in an automobile accident in 1980, but his memory remains as he has been honored by Missouri as a man with a great dedication to the University and his community. Along with the award's namesake, Deaver has also been memorialized in the naming of Mick Deaver Memorial Drive that runs west of the Hearnes Center.

McGuire, now in his 23rd season as Director of Missouri Track & Field, has been honored in the past in many ways by his peers in both the athletic and academic arenas. McGuire is also a faculty member as he teaches courses in Counseling Psychology and sits in many doctorial reviews. For the past 12 years, McGuire has received the High Flyers Award given to professors who rank high in student perception. For that achievement, he was awarded the "Pillar of Excellence Award" by the Dean of the College of Education, one of only four individuals to have attained this honor. These awards represent the highest honor that can be bestowed on faculty member.

"I didn't think I should win the award," a humble McGuire said he told award committee members. "There a lot of people in the university who work hard, work well with students everyday, and just do their jobs and get little thanks for it. Being in the sports arena only makes you more recognizable, and there are people out there who deserve it more than me."

McGuire has twice been named as a conference Coach of the Year and once as the Midwest Region Coach of the Year. He has been honored by his induction into the prestigious Drake Relays Hall of Fame (2000) and the Missouri Track and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame, (1999), and has served as the referee for both the Drake and Kansas Relays.

Dr. McGuire has provided leadership and service to the coaches and athletes of track and field throughout his career. In 1983 he founded, and for over 20 years has led the sport psychology program for USA Track and Field. Now with a staff of over 30 sport psychology professionals, this program is considered the finest sport psychology service delivery programs in the world today, and serves as a model for USOC national sport governing bodies. McGuire also serves as curriculum coordinator and lead instructor for USA Track and Field's Coaches Education Program.

Coach McGuire has served on the staff for nine United States National Track and Field Teams, including the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Team staffs for Barcelona and Atlanta. He has also served with our national teams at the 1995 World Championships, the 1990 World Cup, the 1988 and 1986 World Junior Championships, the 1986 Junior Pan American Games, and for dual meet competitions with Cuba in 1987 and Romania in 1986.

McGuire has recently been elected as Vice President of the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). He has recently completed his four-year term as a member of the NCAA Track and Field Committee. In 2000, McGuire served as president of the Missouri Track and Cross County Coaches Association (MTCCCA).

McGuire is a graduate of St. Lawrence University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics and was a member of the varsity basketball team. He began his career as an educator and coach at Greenwich (N.Y.) High School. In 1978, he received a Master's Degree in physical education with emphasis in athletic coaching from Alfred University, and then in 1983 earned his Ph.D. in sport psychology from the University of Virginia. While at Virginia, McGuire taught Motor Learning and Scientific Bases of Coaching, and was the Coordinator of the Coaching Education Program in the Department of Physical Education.