Chasing Excellence: The Remarkable Life and Inspiring Vigilosophy of Coach Joe I. Vigil by Pat Melgares

Author:Pat Melgares
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Soulstice Publishing
Published: 2020-09-23T16:00:00+00:00

The program Vigil had raised in Alamosa and at Adams State was highly visible—and highly sought. By 1985, Adams State may have been the only NAIA school that had a sponsorship contract with a major athletic company. Reebok hired Vigil as a coaching consultant, paying him $25,000 per year and agreeing to outfit his cross country and track and field teams—primarily providing uniforms, warmups, and shoes.

This was in the early days of large shoe companies’ sponsorship of college athletic programs, and so the contract was exclusively for Vigil’s teams. Reebok was under no obligation to support all of the school’s athletic teams, and that caused some envy among others in the Adams State athletic department.

“I was asked by our athletic administration to go to Reebok and ask them to outfit all of our school’s teams,” Vigil said, “and I told them I would do that when those teams started winning.”

Those close to Vigil knew he meant no disrespect to the other sports teams at the school, and certainly not to the college he truly loved. But he was a stickler about earning what you get; it’s something that goes back to his childhood, when his family had nothing and whatever he and his brothers received, they had to work for. If Vigil wanted a bike, he’d have to work, buy the parts, build the bike. No free tickets.

But that approach rubbed some people wrong and as the years progressed, jealousy grew in the Adams State athletic department, usually among a small group of administrators and coaches. Vigil and his teams brought greater opportunities and attention to Adams State, much like the effect Tiger Woods had on professional golf in the 1990s. Most of the school’s coaches and certainly the Alamosa community appreciated Vigil for his devotion. Still, the jealousy among a vocal few was something that Vigil dealt with in the 1980s through the end of his college coaching career.

Vigil’s standards were also high for his athletes. In 1986, he coached sophomore Travis McKinley to the national title in the 400 meters—McKinley clocked 46.2 seconds at the NAIA national meet in Russellville, Arkansas. McKinley was a gazelle on the track, a picture of beauty around the oval. Nearly everyone on the track and field team—distance runners, jumpers, throwers, sprinters—looked forward to watching McKinley take the starting blocks at each meet.

But Vigil had a rule about being prompt to practice, meetings…and especially meets. In fact, if you didn’t arrive five minutes early, you were late. If Vigil said the bus was leaving at eight o’clock, his athletes knew it would probably roll out of town at 7:58.

In 1987, Adams State boarded the bus for the national championships—again in Russellville—and all seemed well…except that McKinley, the defending national champion at 400 meters, had not arrived. Vigil didn’t blink. He promptly told the bus driver to head out. Off went the squad without the athlete who appeared to be a solid contender for a national championship…and the 10 team points that went along with it.

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