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Hall of Fame Spotlight: Doug Fredrick
1/10/2014 9:00:00 AM | Track and Field
By David Boyce
Special student-athletes touch teammates, coaches, friends and fans long after they have graduate from college.
Former UMKC men's track and field athlete Doug Fredrick is in that category.
All the things he accomplished in track and field amazed his coach during Fredrick's time at UMKC in the late 1990s.
“My fondest memories of him, besides his leadership, came conference time when we needed everything we could get to win those things,” Dave Krueger said. “What he would do was he would typically compete in the decathlon and then he would do another four or five events. In a lot of those events, he had prelims, semifinals and finals.
“In the high hurdles, he had to go through prelims, semis and finals. In the intermediate hurdles he had to do the same thing. Many times, he was on his 14th, 15th event.
“I remember his last year, in his 15th event, he won the outdoor intermediate hurdles, which some people would argue is the most difficult event in track and field. He did it in his 15th event and he set a conference record.
“It was like super human.”
As incredible as that feat was, Krueger was touched even more in 2011 when Krueger made the UMKC Hall of Fame and Fredrick gave a brief speech to introduce Krueger.
The speech can be seen on YouTube. It is filled with humor, insight and heartfelt poignancy.
“It was awesome,” Krueger said. “It was a tear-jerker. It was quite the deal. I was hardly able to do my speech afterwards. To this day, I watch it every now and then when I need a little boost.”
On Friday night, UMKC will recognize all the things Fredrick accomplished as a student-athlete. He is one of six individuals who are part of the 2013-14 UMKC Hall of Fame Class. The dinner will be 6 p.m. at Municipal Auditorium Little Theater.
Inductees will also be recognized during halftime of the women and men's basketball games on Saturday. The women play Chicago State at 2 p.m. and the men follow at 5:15 p.m. Both games are at Municipal Auditorium.
“To be recognized for the things I did so long ago is frankly, pretty awesome,” Fredrick said. “But when I reflect on those things I did, my thoughts constantly gravitate towards my coaches and teammates. My induction is a testament to the amazing people who surrounded me during my time at UMKC.”
The accomplishments by Fredrick in competition were incredible. He was a five-time Mid-Continent Conference champion in three different events, including three times as 400-meter hurdles.
Fredrick still ranks second in the pentathlon with 3,549 points.
Like so many of the men and women track and field athletes during the late 1990s, Fredrick's best memories center around the teammates and all the success they had in the Mid-Continent Conference.
“Winning the first, second, and third conference championships, and watching the women win the first conference championship ever,” Fredrick said. “And all the evenings hanging out with my teammates at the various crappy apartments and houses we lived in through the years.
As most know, that is life as a college student.
As much as Fredrick accomplished in track and field, he was more successful in the classroom. He earned degrees from UMKC business school and law school and is now a lawyer in Springfield, Mo.
“Not only was he a great athlete, he was very smart, too,” Krueger said. “He was our team captain for three years. He was President of the Student Advisory Committee.
“He represented all athletes from all sports in the nation at the NCAA Academic Eligibility Compliance Cabinet in 1999 and 2000, which was a lot bigger deal than was ever made of it.”
Being part of that meant a lot to Fredrick. He traveled throughout the country for meetings, representing student-athletes.
Fredrick got everything he could out of his experience as a student-athlete at UMKC and those experiences has played a part in his success now as a lawyer.
“The Bloch School of Business was an excellent experience, but if you had to boil it down, it taught me the basic concepts and vocabulary that I needed to enter the business world,” Fredrick said.
“Law school taught me about how to think, how to write, and about 10 percent of the law. Being a student-athlete instilled a ferocious work ethic, taught me how to overcome adversity, how to mentally handle very large workloads, how to deal with people who are different than you, and a litany of other things that helped me to success in every other area of my life.”
Fredrick remains active in athletics and enjoys competing.
“I got bit by the triathlon bug three years ago,” Fredrick said. “After competing at such an intense level for the first part of my young adult life, I didn't realize how much I missed the competition, the camaraderie of kindred souls, and yes, the training.
“It was a part of my DNA that had grown dormant since I ended my collegiate career, and to reignite that passion has been refreshing and exciting.”
Fredrick is looking forward to this year's UMKC Hall of Fame induction ceremony. It will be his third time.
“I was honored to have been asked by Coach Krueger to introduce him at his banquet, and again by Willie White to introduce him last year,” Fredrick said. “More than anything else, I am excited to see my teammates and coach again.
“Even though we spread to the four winds after graduating, all the long van rides, difficult workouts, ice baths, tribulations, and triumphs created a bond that does not erode with mere geographic distance.”
