- In the 25 years Tucker has devoted to Loras, he has made a difference in the lives of thousands on the track and football field, in the classroom, through special seminars and summer sports camps.
- Tucker began coaching at Loras in 1981 as men's head track coach and assistant football coach. In 14 seasons under Tucker, the Duhawk men's track team captured six Iowa Conference outdoor titles, including four straight (1987-90) and an indoor (2005 when his team took the outdoor also). His Duhawks won seven Iowa College State Championships, including five straight (1986-90). Loras was the NAIA District 15 champion in 1984, 1985 and 1986. After the school moved into NCAA Division III, the Duhawks were fourth in the 1989 indoor and fifth in the 1989 outdoor nationals. Of the 47 Loras track All-Americans through 1992, 32 came during Tucker's coaching years. Tucker was head cross country coach two years (1984-85) and in 1985, Loras was the District NAIA champion. When women's track was introduced in 1985, Tucker guided the program from its infancy until 1992, winning the conference outdoor title in 1987.
- The honors have been many: NAIA District 15 cross country Coach of the Year in 1985, District 15 track Coach of the Year in 1984, 1985 and 1986 and four-time Iowa Conference Coach of the Year in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 2005.
- For 18 years Tucker chaired the Department of Physical Education, and in 1983 he founded the nationally acclaimed Loras College All-Sports Camp which he still directs with his wife Judy.
- During the spring of 1985 the track and field team took a trip to Nassau, Bahamas, for training and a chance to enjoy the warm weather and the sights of Nassau. One of the stories I would like to share with you involved what we ate on our trip.
Story
During the spring of 1985 the track and field team took a trip to Nassau, Bahamas, for training and a chance to enjoy the warm weather and the sights of Nassau. One of the stories I would like to share with you involved what we ate on our trip.
It was a very exciting and interesting trip – one which I will never forget. A group of 48 individuals left Dubuque early on a Monday morning on a Tri-State Tours bus and drove straight through to Miami Beach, Florida. On the way down, in order to save money, we brought food which included bologna sandwiches. We had bologna sandwiches all the way down to Florida and had them for a meal in Florida as well. Once we arrived in Nassau, we were picked up by Charley Tinker, who was the president of the Nassau Track and Field Club and the contact person who helped make arrangements for our stay in Nassau.
In order for us to afford to make the trip we were not able to stay in any of the expensive hotels on the island. Instead, Charley set us up in a Catholic monastery that had several rooms with beds that we could sleep in. The building was supposed to have a full kitchen but instead had only one hot plate and a few plates and utensils. Not enough to feed a team of 40-plus athletes. We arrived in Nassau on Wednesday morning and did not have a kitchen in which to prepare meals. The only thing we had to feed the group was bologna sandwiches. So, for the next day and a half we continued to eat bologna sandwiches. Eventually we were allowed to use the kitchen in the monastery next to where we were staying. By Thursday afternoon we were able to prepare actual meals. Needless to say, I have never eaten another bologna sandwich since that time. And I don’t believe anyone else who was on that trip has either!
Barry Harris, a sprinter for the Duhawks from 1985-1989, developed into a national champion his senior year in the Indoor 55 meter dash and the outdoor 100 and 200 meter dashes—quite an accomplishment for a young man who never ran track until he was in college!
During Barry’s sophomore year, he began a tradition which would continue until he stopped competing in track and graduated from college. It began during one of our trips to a qualifying meet at North Central College. We were having breakfast at a Bob Evans Restaurant in Naperville, Illinois, and Barry ordered bacon and eggs which came with a bowl of grits. He had never had grits before, but he thought they were pretty good. That afternoon Barry won the 100 meter dash; and, from that day on, Barry had to have grits for breakfast before every competition. He never missed a day and we had some pretty interesting excursions looking for restaurants that served grits!
