Jim Freeman (1977) - Hall of Fame - Murray State University Athletics

Jim Freeman

Induction:
1977

Jim Freeman – Track, 1964-1967

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Inducted into the Murray State in 1977.
One of the most decorated student-athletes in the history of Racer men’s track & field.
Competed for head coach Bill Furgerson.
Native of Neptune, N.J., Freeman was recommended to Furgerson by one of his many talent scouts scattered throughout the country, who take great delight in helping the likeable Racer coach.
1965, won his second-straight of four-straight Ohio Valley Conference 100-yard outdoor championships with a time of 9.40 seconds.
Freeman recorded a 9.40 in the 100-yard dash twice in the spring of 1965 and it remained the record for Murray State until Cuthbert Jacobs posted a 9.30 in 1974.
1965, Freeman won OVC outdoor 220yd event with a time of 20.8 seconds.
In the spring of 1965, Freeman’s his 100 time put him in the top-10 in the world and into the top-20 on the planet in the 200.
In 1965 outdoor season, Freeman competed at the United States Track and Field Federation Meet in Terre Haute, Indiana and defeated New Mexico’s Rene Matison, who the previous week had tied Bob Hayes’s world record of 9.1.
In 1965 at the Indiana University meet, Freeman competed against athletes from the major conferences and placed third in the 200m event.
His outdoor season of 1965 was one of the most impressive seasons of any Murray State athlete at that point in history and it has withstood the test of time as well.
Because of that 1965 performance, Freeman earned NCAA All-America honors as he became the first student-athlete at Murray State to be named All-America in any sport.
His records set at Murray State included being a part of the 440-relay team (with Bob Doty, Charlie Allen and Dennis Jackson).
In the 1965 indoor season, Freeman won the 70-yard dash at the Mason-Dixon games in Louisville, placed fourth in the 60 in the NCAA Indoor in Detroit, finished third in the 100 in the Drake Relays, and first in the 100 at the University of Kentucky Relays, the Memphis Relays, and the USTFF fall regional meet at the University of Tennessee.
As a freshman in 1964, Freeman won the 100 and 220 dashes in every Racer dual meet, beating sprinters from Wisconsin, the Big 10 champion; Kentucky State, and Tennessee State. He mopped up OVC competition.
In life after competing at Murray State, Freeman became the first back head coach in the history of the University of Louisville from 1972-74.
An excellent evaluator of talent, Freeman was very good at training himself along with Coach Fergerson.
Freeman was well known for training at distances slight longer than the 100 and 200.
On Oct. 22, 2022, Freeman was honored with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) UNITE Award.
The award was created to honor individuals affiliated with the ACC who have made an impact in the areas of racial and social justice.