Legendary U.S. distance running coach Joe Vigil has passed away at 95 years old.

In 1971, he led Adams State to its first men’s national title in cross country and then won 11 more from 1977 to 1989. In his time at Adams State from 1965 to 1993, the team won 19 national collegiate championships (including a 15-point perfect score performance at the 1992 NCAA Division II Championships). On the individual side, he guided 87 national titles and 425 All-American honors. He created a dynasty that lives on.

He coached Team USA at two Olympic Games and seven World Cross Country Championships. He helped bring the 1968 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials to Alamosa, Colorado. He was named National Coach of the Year on 14 occasions.

He coached Deena Kastor to the Olympic bronze medal in the marathon at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens. He coached Pat Porter to eight U.S. XC titles. The athletes he coached and inspired took on the name “Vigilantes,” which also included the likes of Brenda Martinez and Diego Estrada

Adams State coach Damon Martin shared the following tribute via the university: “In the sports of cross country and track & field, Coach Vigil belongs on our version of Mount Rushmore. He was an incredible motivator, a superior coach, one of the godfathers of coaching education in the United States, and a great mentor to so many of us around the world. He told me point blank on many occasions to be an impact person. I don’t know if there will ever be a more impactful person in our sports and our community than Coach Vigil. He was the architect that created the Adams State dynasty, it has been my great honor to be next in line as he passed the baton. As we continued to have successes as a program, Coach would always encourage our teams, cheer us on, and sing our praises. He was humble, gracious, and remarkable in so many ways. Today, I’m not really thinking much about all of those things, I just know that I am going to miss my friend and our weekly phone calls.”

Kastor shared the following tribute on Instagram:

"Last night was the hardest goodbye. Joe Vigil, at 95 years old, was the greatest coach and my most profound mentor. I remember sitting in his and Caroline’s kitchen in Alamosa, Colorado. It was 1997 when he took a chance at coaching me. As he played this song Con te Partiro by Andrea Bocelli, he said “When my casket is being lowered into the ground, this is the song I want playing.” Caroline and I burst into tears. I never wanted that day to come.

He was darn tough and compassionately delicate. He expected a hard work ethic because hard work was all he knew from growing up in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. He acquired his grit from playing football. His love of service he so graciously exuded was from serving in the Navy. In running, he was a lifelong student and teacher. A man who dedicated hours of his day to learning, would share his wisdom with anyone in an instant. It was with this graciousness that he showed me that all we have, be it money, time, food or knowledge, increases in value the moment it is shared.

At Andrew’s and my wedding he said in his speech, “When Andrew started messing around it really pissed me off. But I soon saw how he complimented her striving. And while I’ve had the privilege of seeing Deena chase an Olympic medal, she found her Gold medal in Andrew.” His approval was everything.

While writing my memoir, Let Your Mind Run, it was so important to get right his wisdom and warmth so a world that never knew him would immediately make him the hero of my story. He’s been my hero and strength for almost 30 years.

He claimed his impenetrable youth was from insatiably learning and from working with so many hungry athletes in his career.

He made the running world, my world, a better place. He made me want to be better at everything I’ve ever done and will continue to do. It was the hardest goodbye, but as with any Great of their time, so much of him will live on."

His life story is told in the book Chasing Excellence: The Remarkable Life and Inspiring Vigilosophy of Coach Joe I. Vigil, which was published in 2020.