Jim Knoedel capped a 21-year career as the head coach of the UIC men's and women's cross county and track and field in December 2016.
Since his arrival in 1996, Knoedel has put a stamp on the Flames that will forever be engrained. He took the men's and women's cross country teams from being at the bottom of the barrel to moving into the top tier ranks in the Horizon League. He was also instrumental in constructing the track and field programs that got underway in 2001, showcasing UIC as a conference contender.
Knoedel coached several student-athletes in his time that were able to bring home a collection of Horizon League accolades, including Cross Country Athlete of the Year (2), Cross Country Freshman of the Year (4), Outstanding Running Performer (2), Outstanding Field Performer (2), Running Newcomer of the Year (1), Field Newcomer of the Year (2) and All-League (50).
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The honors did not stop there as the Flames collected 83 individual league titles, leading UIC to finish in the upper half of the final conference standings 38 times.
Knoedel came to UIC after six remarkably successful seasons as an assistant coach at Loyola. A 1974 graduate of the University of Iowa, Knoedel received his bachelor's degree in physical education and was a member of the track and cross-country squads there. He furthered his education at Iowa State, where he earned a master's degree in biomechanics in 1983.
Sandwiched between higher education degrees was a stint as head coach at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, where he was responsible for the development of the women's track program. In 1981, Knoedel moved on to Iowa State to pursue his master's and serve as a graduate assistant track coach.
After receiving his master's degree, Knoedel accepted a position as assistant coach at Drake University and was eventually promoted to head coach. In three seasons at Drake, Knoedel coached five All-Americans before moving on to Northwestern University as an assistant coach from 1984-1986. Two years later, he became an assistant at Loyola.
At Loyola, Knoedel was part of a program perennially rated among the top in the region. Working with the cross country team in the fall and in charge of sprinters and field athletes during the indoor and outdoor track seasons, Knoedel tutored both the men and women's teams and annually helped bring in some of the area's top student-athletes.
The USA Track and Field National Office selected Knoedel as the head coach for two United States teams. In 1996 he coached the USA Women's Ekiden team competing in Yokohama, Japan, and in 1999, the Junior Men's Coach at the World Cross Country Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Junior Team placed a surprising sixth out of 81 competing countries.
Most recently Knoedel was selected to serve on the USA Track & Field National Team staff as the decathlon/heptathlon coach for the 2007 USA vs. Germany Combined Events competition in Munich in August.
Knoedel and his wife, Denise, reside in Chicago.
