North Central College athletic director Jim Miller ’86 has announced the College will soon be opening its first search for head men’s cross country and track and field coaching positions in nearly 60 years, as head coach Frank Gramarosso has announced his intention to retire at the end of the 2021-2022 academic year.
Gramarosso has been a member of the North Central staff for 39 years, joining on a part-time basis in 1983 before being named a full-time assistant coach in 1985. Since coming aboard, Gramarosso has coached middle-distance runners, pole vaulters, hurdlers, sprinters, decathletes and relay teams at one time or another. Since he joined the Cardinals’ staff, North Central teams have won 13 NCAA Division III championships in cross country and 12 in track and field, the last five with Gramarosso as head coach.
“My time at North Central is filled with wonderful memories and lifelong relationships,” Gramarosso said. “I’m going to turn 69 later this month, and every older coach I talk to says you know when it’s time. I think it’s just time. I hope to continue a strong relationship with our alumni, but for a lot of reasons, I think this is the right time to step away.”
Gramarosso’s coaching partnership with fellow North Central Athletic Hall of Famer Al Carius H ’16 has been one of the most successful in the history of competitive sport. North Central won 88 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) championships in cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field, as well as 69 individual and relay national titles and more than 500 Division III All-America awards across the three sports.
“The partnership between Al and Frank was incredibly successful and Frank’s ability to carry that on as head coach has been just remarkable,” said Miller. “In addition to the trophies and records, we’ve seen them influence and mentor so many young people and help them win in life. That so many of them have gone into coaching themselves speaks volumes about the impression Al and Frank have made on their lives, not just their athletic pursuits. We’re forever grateful to Frank for the impact he’s had on the entire North Central community.”
The Cardinals won the Division III cross country and indoor and outdoor championships in the same academic year in 2009-2010, after which Gramarosso was elevated to the position of head coach. His first season at the helm saw North Central win the indoor and outdoor titles again in 2011, and the Cardinals won the indoor crown once more in 2012. North Central became the first host of a Division III indoor championship to win the title in 2017, sharing the top spot with the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The Cardinals won the championship outright once again in 2019.
Gramarosso was named the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Head Coach of the Year following each of the Cardinals’ victories at the national meet and was also named USTFCCCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year four times. Under his direction, North Central won the USTFCCCA’s Al Carius Program of the Year Award four times (2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2017-2018, 2018-2019).
“I want to especially thank Al Carius for taking a chance on hiring me part-time, leading to a full-time teaching and coaching position, and trusting me to take over the track and field program from him in 2010,” said Gramarosso, who succeeded Carius as North Central’s head men’s cross country coach in 2020.
Gramarosso was inducted into the North Central Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012 and is also enshrined in the Illinois Track & Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame and the Northern Illinois Track and Cross Country Coaching Association Hall of Fame.
Gramarosso will continue to coach the Cardinals until his tenure at the College officially ends June 30.
North Central is scheduled to compete at the Wabash College Invitational Saturday before hosting the First Chance Invitational at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium Apr. 15.
-North Central College