The United States Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association announced on Tuesday afternoon the election of former Illini Men's Track & Field Coach Harry Gill to their Hall of Fame. Born on January 9, 1876, Gill coached at the University of Illinois from 1904 though 1929 and again from 1931 to 1933. During his tenure, Gill was responsible for a total of 22 Big Ten indoor and outdoor titles, finishing with a career record of 111-24 (.822). In addition to leading the Illini, Gill was also a key leader in the creation of the first NCAA Championship in any sport. Under the tutelage of Gill, the University of Illinois' track and field team won the first ever NCAA Championship in 1921, and added a second title six years later in 1927. Although Gill passed away on November 10, 1969, he still remains well known for his founding of Gill Athletics, a track and field equipment company. 

Before going into coaching, Harry Gill was a multi-event athlete at the Harvard School of Physical Training. Here, Gill defeated the three-time U.S. champion in the "all around", or what is similar to today's decathlon, and broke the world record in the discus.

Gill's coaching experience began at Beloit College in Wisconsin, but he was ultimately let go in 1903 due to not having a college degree. The Fighting Illini acquired his services for the following 1904 season and, three years later, Gill brought home the schools' first Big Ten Track & Field Championship at the 1907 Big Ten Outdoor meet. The year of 1912 saw the beginning of a dominant era in which the program captured Big Ten Indoor Championships in 1912-14, 1916, 1920-1922, and 1924, and Big Ten Outdoor Championships in 1913-14, 1920-1922, and 1924. Over the course of Gill's Illini career, the program swept the indoor and outdoor Big Ten meets in seven seasons. His last Big Ten title would come at the outdoor meet in 1929.

Gill's influence stretched beyond the University of Illinois and the Big Ten as he coached former Illini and other Olympians to success on the global stage. In 1912, Gill coached former Illini Avery Brundage, and future President of the U.S. Olympic Committee (1929 to 1953), to a fifth-place finish at the Olympic Games in the pentathlon and a 14^th place finish in the decathlon. Harold Osborn, also an Illinois alum and Big Ten champion, won Olympic gold in the high jump and in the decathlon at the 1924 Olympics. Osborn would go on to win the silver medal in the high jump in 1928 and enter, along with Jesse Owens, into the Track & Field Hall of Fame as one of its charter members in 1974. Among the non-Illini  Olympians that Coach Gill presided over were USTFCCCA Hall of Famer Charles "Chick" Werner (120m hurdles), "Bud" Evans (220m dash), and H.M. Fitch (400m).

Although his coaching resume is highly touted, Gill is most recognizable today for his influence on the manufacturing of track and field equipment. In 1918, Gill produced an ash javelin, and by 1922 was offering a complete line of track and field gear. His company is credited with multiple track & field innovations, such as the "flex test", used to match a pole vaulter's pole to his weight, hurdle improvements that led to the first tubular steel hurdle, and an adjustable pedal starting blocks. 

"Harry Gill was an amazing athlete and coach that had foresight beyond his time," said Gill Athletics CEO David Hodge. "Today, 97 years after he started the Harry Gill Company, we are still trying to live out his deream of 'empowering coaches with innovative equipment.' We could not be more proud of him and his legacy."