Press Whelan, who starred and coached at Kentucky in track and cross country, dies

Press Whelan, a national champion and three-time Southeastern Conference champion in track and cross country at the University of Kentucky who later became the school’s head coach, died Tuesday at the age of 84, UK Athletics announced. Whelan was inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013.

“Press Whelan has a unique place in our history,” UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart said in a statement released by UK. “He made championship contributions as an athlete and coach and played a role in the integration of the SEC. He had an impact on so many people as a coach and a friend.”

Whelan (pronounced “WHAY-lan”) was born in New Haven, Ky., and competed at UK from 1957-60. He won a national title in the two-man, 10-mile relay. He set a record time while winning the 1957 SEC cross country championship and also won the SEC track title twice in the 2-mile run. His efforts helped lead the Cats to back-to-back SEC cross country championships in 1958 and 1959.

Following his collegiate competitive career, he served as an assistant coach in 1961.

Whelan was named the cross country/track and field head coach in 1967 and led the program until 1973. The cross country squad won the SEC title in 1970. His athletes won four individual national titles and 33 conference championships.

Whelan was involved in the integration of the SEC as he coached the league’s first Black track athlete, Jim Green.

“Coach Whelan was a fabulous coach and even better person than he was a coach,” Green said, according to UK’s news release. “He told me it wasn’t going to be easy, and it wasn’t, but he was always there for me. He was a father figure, an outstanding man. He taught us to do the right thing and made sure we got an education.

“He was a tough man, battling an illness for 14 years. My teammates and I called him ‘Iron Man’ because he never gave up. His disposition never changed, never said a bad word about anybody. Never. When we talked on the phone, I always ended with, ‘I love you, Coach’ and he would reply, ‘I love you, Jim.’ We had a bond that stayed from 1968 until the day he died. He will surely be missed.”

In addition to Green, Whelan’s protégés included NCAA long jump champion Bill Lightsey; Vic Nelson, a seven-time SEC champion in cross country, indoor and outdoor track and a UK Athletics Hall of Famer (inducted in 2019); and Don Weber, a member of the 1970 SEC title team who was head coach of UK for 28 years and also is in the UK Hall of Fame (inducted in 2019).

Whelan was an uncle to three people with connections to UK athletics — Bob Whelan, a UK track star (from 1987-90) who was inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021; Joe Whelan, who ran for the UK cross country team; and Bill Whelan, a student equipment manager for the football team.

Following his collegiate coaching career, Press Whelan assisted the U.S. State Department by coaching foreign track teams in Turkey and Lebanon. He competed in three Senior Olympics and one national senior indoor championship.

Whelan is survived by his wife of 55 years, Phyllis; his daughter, Erika Trelles; his son, Preston; and five grandsons. He will be honored with a celebration of life on Aug. 24 in Acworth, Ga.