Karen Dennis (2019) - Hall of Fame - Michigan State University Athletics

Karen Dennis

Induction:
2019
Class:
1977

Karen Dennis
Track & Field (Athlete 1974-77 | Head Track Coach 1981-92)
Detroit, Michigan
MSU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2019

HIGHLIGHTS:
• MSU's first female national champion (220-yard dash in 1975)
• Two-time All-American in 1975 (220-yard dash and 440-yard relay)
• As head coach, guided MSU women's track and field to first Big Ten Championship in 1982
• Head coach of the U.S. women's national team at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games

HALL OF FAME FEATURE: CLASS OF 2019

A pioneer in the sport of track & field, Karen Dennis has done nothing but push boundaries since arriving on campus in 1974. She would hold many titles at Michigan State from All-American to national champion to head coach, but one constant was her desire to win. She was victorious as a student-athlete and she continued that success as she later transitioned to a coaching role.

Dennis was elated when she was told by MSU Director of Athletics Bill Beekman that she was the latest in a long line of track & field athletes to enter the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame.

"I've had so many of my former students (Molly Brennan - 1993, Judi Brown - 1995, Anne Pewe - 2016) go in the Hall, and I was so excited for them and my first thought was I'm glad I'm going. Yey! That was my first thought," Dennis said. "It's just a testament to the strength of the quality of the athletes that we've conditioned or we've recruited to Michigan State, as well as the ability for them to develop at Michigan State and to go on to some amazing, if not professional careers; just some amazing careers, period. We've had some students that are now professors, that are teachers, that are politicians, that are entrepreneurs, patent-holders, just some amazing women."

Dennis enjoyed a successful collegiate career as a standout sprinter at Michigan State where she helped the 1975 Spartans to a fourth-place finish at the AIAW National Championship. She was the Spartans' first female national champion with a victory in the 220-yard dash with a time of 24.90. Dennis ended her MSU career as a two-time All-American in the 220-yard dash and the 440-yard relay in 1975.

She is still one of four different Spartan women to win a National Championship in either indoor or outdoor seasons.

Dennis was not only a champion, but also managed thrive as a student-athlete and a mother to Ebony. Her success at all these facets of her life were not a surprise to the talented multi-tasker, but she also had a strong support system. Her head coach, Jim Bibbs, and his family were a key part of her success both on the track and off. He entered the MSU Hall of Fame in 2010, and now she will join him as a Hall of Famer.

"Women have tentacles. We're like octopuses, we have lots of arms. But it's all about the support system you have. Gil Michael was my advisor, Dr. (Clarence) Underwood was always there to support me; Coach Bibbs and his family, they did a heavy load for me by keeping Ebony while I was on the road. She really grew up in the Bibbs' home when she wasn't in my home," Dennis said. "It was a juggling match but at the same time I had my family, I had the Bibbs family, I had my Spartan family, that just sort of surrounded me. I loved the sport; I loved track. I wanted to be able to do my best in track despite being a mother. I wanted to participate in a sport that I loved, and Michigan State gave me that opportunity."

She also gained valuable experience running internationally. Dennis was part of a world record-setting 4×160-yard relay team for Michigan State and a fifth-place finisher in the 220-yard dash at the 1968 U.S. Olympic Trials.

"I think that wanting to reach the highest level of athleticism in your sport is a goal and to be a National Champion at Michigan State, that was obviously one of the highlights of my athletic career," she said. "Then to proceed with helping other athletes, other students, achieve that same level of success as a coach were probably the more memorable and more significant moments in my life. But it was exciting, our whole team finished fourth in the country in 1975 with Sue Latter. We had a 4x100; Sue ran the 800. I think I ran the 400. We had a 2x100. It was a small team but a quality team nonetheless."

After her competition days were over, Dennis was not done as a Spartan, as she transitioned to a coaching role. She was part of the Michigan State coaching staff for 15 seasons, spending four years with the program as an assistant coach (1977-1981) and 11 as head coach (1981-1992).

"The transition was pretty easy. Easy from the standpoint of, at that point, at that time, you didn't really have any training to be a coach so I really leaned on or watched Jud Heathcote, I watched what he did with basketball. Of course Coach Bibbs was my rock, he was my mentor. He really coached me to be a coach. I did some of the recruiting; Dr. (Nell) Jackson was still there. I think because I was young, I had a good rapport with bringing in other young people and because I had success at Michigan State then it allowed me to be able to help my successors and encourage other young people, 'Hey, you can do the same and or better than me if you come to Michigan State and run with us'," Dennis said.

The Spartans thrived under her direction, producing a number of outstanding athletes. Judi Brown earned a silver in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Odessa Smalls was a three-time All-American sprinter and was a 12-time Big Ten champion. Anne Pewe was a two-time All-American along with Mary Shea, who was an All-American and Big Ten champion.

In 1982, the Spartan women captured their first Big Ten outdoor championship with Dennis earning District IV Coach of the Year honors.

As Dennis was collecting accolades and leading women throughout her career, she was too busy to think about her trailblazing career. She was crashing through a glass ceiling as an African-American women in a male dominated sport.

"When you are in it, I find it hard to see myself as a trailblazer. I am starting to see it now as time goes on. I have always thought that women should be able to do anything that men do. I was lucky to have Coach Bibbs to support me as a coach," added Dennis.

Dennis is very aware that she was not alone in all her achievements both as an athlete and as a coach.

"I have to thank my parents first of all who were both college educated and I am second generation. I have kids that I coach now that are first generation college educated," Dennis said. "I have to thank Coach Bibbs and his family who helped me raise Ebony while I was in school and competing. Coach Bibbs was the one who discovered me and saw some talent. He pointed me in the right direction in terms of how to train and how to be an athlete, as well as how to compete."

As the current Director of Track and Field and Cross Country at Ohio State, Dennis has continued her success at the Big Ten level. She was unanimously selected as the Big Ten Coach of the Year for the third time in her career in 2018, leading the Buckeyes to their third Big Ten indoor title after similar victories in 2011 and 2015.

"Outside of the Ivy League, the Big Ten leads the nation in academics. When I went west, I really realized the emphasis that the Big Ten puts on academics. I have loved my time in the Big Ten because of the priority it places not only on athletics, but also on academics," Dennis said about the conference that she has called home for so long.

Dennis may wear less green and white these days, but she will always bleed green.

"I am always proud of Michigan State to this day. I am proud to have been a part of the first Big Ten championship in 1982, and I am proud when Michigan State won the title 30 years later. I still say, 'Go Green,'" she concluded.

Dennis graduated from MSU with a bachelor's degree in public affairs in 1977 and a master's degree in physical education in 1979. Her daughter, Dr. Ebony Dennis Mundy is a practicing clinical psychologist.

Along with pioneer, athlete, coach and mother, Dennis can now add Hall of Famer to her many roles and titles.