For coach Bill Bergan, organizing a fun run on the Fourth of July combined two of his passions — running and supporting Friendship Ark.
The beloved, longtime Iowa State University track and cross-country coach died on Nov. 22, 2022, but the “Bill Bergan 5k on the 4th” lives on in his honor.
Now organized by the Friendship Ark, the race celebrates its 20th anniversary this week. Held at Ada Hayden Park, the run/walk begins at 8 a.m. Thursday, and it costs $35.
Bergan encouraged inclusiveness and acceptance
Friendship Ark Homes & Community Services “celebrates the uniqueness of adults with intellectual disabilities by providing homes and community services,” the organization stated on the Facebook event for the run.
Bergan was one of the founders of Friendship Ark, leaning on his firsthand knowledge of the challenges the adults often face.
“Twenty years ago, Mark, a young man with intellectual disabilities whose parents had died, asked us to become his legal guardians,” Bergan wrote in a fundraising letter in 2011. “Our family had become friends with Mark, so naturally, we said ‘yes.’ While this ‘yes’ added Mark to our family circle, it also opened our eyes to the many challenges and frustrations faced by families who have loved ones with disabilities.”
Mark became the fifth of Bill and Karen Bergan’s children, joining the family for holidays and special occasions, Jody Bergan Bennet said, one of the Bergans' daughters who lives in Ames.
Bill Bergan attended the University of Northern Iowa, where he was a member of the track and cross-country teams. He later served as the head track and field coach at Waterloo Columbus High School from 1965 to 71 before accepting a position with Iowa State University as the head cross-country coach.
A true passion for coaching
Coaching was Bill Bergan's highest calling.
During a career that spanned nearly 30 years, Iowa State won 25 Big Eight Conference team championships and two NCAA Cross Country team titles. Bergan was named Big Eight Cross Country Coach of the Year five times, National Cross Country & Track Coach of the Year, and was inducted into several Halls of Fame as a coach and an athlete.
Bergan became a father figure to many of his runners, many of whom were international athletes who often visited the Bergan home. Many of those relationships lasted well after graduation.
“He really did father so many people," Bergan Bennett said. "And it was such a rich experience growing up with what we didn't even realize. We had these opportunities to know so many interesting people. Some of them came from hard backgrounds.
“Dad always had a brightness in his eye, a light of hope. And he could always see potential and hope in people. I think he gave them a soft place to land. I don't think I ever realized how many people he gave opportunities to, just by bringing them to Ames.”
Bergan was instrumental in developing the current ISU Cross Country Course along Mortensen Road. In 2012, Iowa State dedicated its new track field facility at the Cyclone Sports Complex in his honor, naming it The Bill and Karen Bergan Track.
“He was an excellent husband to my mom,” Bergan Bennett said. “My dad insisted that it had to include her name too. They couldn’t just name it after him. He said he wouldn’t have been able to accomplish anything without her.”
A statue of Coach Bergan raising one of his many Big Eight championship trophies welcomes visitors at the complex entrance.
The birth of Championship Productions
Bill and Karen Bergan started a publishing company in 1976 with a series of track and field coaching books. Over the next four decades, Championship Productions evolved and became the world's leading producer of coaching instructional videos.
They even re-produced a coaching book authored by former UNI football coach Darrell Mudra spearheaded by NBA head coach Nick Nurse. "Freedom in the Huddle" taught readers about the inner workings of the coaching profession. Nurse visited Dog-Eared Books in Ames in 2021 for a roundtable discussion about the book, joined by Bill Bergan.
In 2007, the Ames Chamber of Commerce awarded Bill Bergan the title of ‘Entrepreneur of the Year.'
“My dad was super humble, but it’s pretty amazing now to look back and witness what he took on,” Bergan Bennett said. “In addition to trying to run a business and coach national championship teams, he was also the best husband and father.”
Ronna Faaborg covers business and the arts for the Ames Tribune. Reach her at rfaaborg@gannett.com.
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