SEATTLE – Already a Husky Hall of Famer, UW legend Scott Neilson will now be enshrined in the track and field Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame, as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced its Class of 2025 today.
The class of 12 will be enshrined on Sunday, June 8, at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts in Eugene, Oregon. The induction ceremony is free and open to the public and will be held three days prior to the start of the 2025 NCAA DI Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field. Fans can watch a free stream on RunnerSpace.
The Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame was established in 2022 to honor the best of the best in collegiate track & field and cross country. The Hall of Fame recognizes the achievements of athletes who have left a lasting mark on the sport during their time in college.
Neilson is a part of the fourth induction class, and is the first Washington alumni to be enshrined. This class of twelve brings the total number of Hall of Famers to seventy.
Neilson was unbeatable in the hammer and weight throws during his four years as a Husky from 1976-79. He single-handedly brought home seven NCAA titles, winning four consecutive hammer throw titles outdoors, and three consecutive weight throw titles indoors from his sophomore through senior years. Neilson never lost a collegiate hammer or weight competition.
A native of British Columbia, Canada, Neilson was the first field-event athlete to win four NCAA titles in the same event, and the first athlete to win as many as seven field event titles. Neilson also won four consecutive Pac-8/10 hammer titles and was named to the Pac-12 All-Century Team in 2016.
He was most dominant in the hammer, setting a collegiate record of 72.72m (238-7) in 1978 and nearly matching that with his NCAA title that year at 72.36m (237-5) to win by more than 25 feet – a margin that would remain the event’s longest for 18 years. After his 1979 senior year, he owned 10 of the top-11 throws all-time. He still holds the UW School Record in the hammer.
He qualified for the 1980 Olympic Games for Canada but did not compete due to international boycott, and also won gold at the 1979 Pan Am Games.
Neilson was…
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