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Mr. Leon Johnson
Graduated 1963

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Email: ljohnson441@suddenlink.net

Leon was a track performer during 1960-61 and a student coach in track from 1961-63. Submitted by Elaine.

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Submitted by Doug Ireland in behalf of Leon Johnson – his retirement announcement. His retirement was effective before the start of the Cross Country season in September, 2013.

NATCHITOCHES — Legendary Leon Johnson, track and field coach at Northwestern State since 1982, today is officially announcing his
pending retirement as the Demons’ head coach.
Plans are underway for a Nov. 9 track and field reunion, featuring a brunch to honor Johnson before a home football game at NSU that
day.
Johnson was a highly successful high school coach in DeRidder and Opelousas before taking the Northwestern State post 31 years ago
this month. He won two state titles and his teams finished second in the state two more times at Opelousas, and he added a 1982 state
title at DeRidder before succeeding Jerry Dyes as the NSU coach.
Johnson has coached 57 NCAA Division I All-Americans, including three NCAA or USA Track and Field champions and two USA
Olympians, while winning nine conference championships. He is the only active Division I coach to have a home meet named in his
honor, since the university rebranded its feature meet each season to The Leon Johnson NSU Invitational.
He has coached Northwestern State to Top 20 team finishes at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Johnson started the women’s track and field program at NSU in 1986. He has been the driving force for more than two decades in the
annual Louisiana High School Athletic Association Cross Country Championships hosted each November at NSU’s Walter P. Ledet Track
Complex, drawing tens of thousands of competitors and supporters to the community.
He has volunteered his time and his program’s resources to annually assist causes such as Louisiana Special Olympics, the American
Heart Association, the American Cancer Society and others. Under Johnson’s tenure, the Ledet Complex has also hosted countless
district and regional high school track and field and cross country competitions.
“I cannot even begin to express how much Leon has meant not only to the NSU track and field program, but to our athletics department,
university, community and the state,” said director of athletics Greg Burke.
His retirement will be effective before the start of the 2013 cross country season in September.

By the Numbers
Coach Leon Johnson
1 – NSU women’s track program launched by Leon Johnson in 1986
1 – Active coaches in America for whom a Division I track meet is named (The Leon Johnson NSU Invitational)
1 – State semifinal basketball appearance by a Leon Johnson-coached team (Grand Valley, Col.)
2 – USA Olympians coached by Leon Johnson (LaMark Carter, 2000; Kenta Bell, 2004, 2008)
2 – USA Junior champions in the Johnson Era (Robert Etheridge, 2000 long jump; Latrell Frederick, 1999 javelin).
3 – National champions in Leon Johnson’s tenure as head coach. Brian Brown won the 1989 USA Outdoors high jump championship
and the 1990 NCAA Indoors title. Trecey Rew captured the 2011 NCAA women’s discus title.
3 – LHSAA state championships (1971, 1972 at Opelousas, 1982 at DeRidder) won by Johnson’s teams
8 – Southland Conference Coach of the Year awards won by Leon Johnson
9 – Conference team championships won by Leon Johnson’s teams (2002, 1999, 1993, 1987, 1985 outdoors; 2001, 1998,
1994, 1993 indoors)
13 – School records (of 47 total) set by athletes before the Johnson Era
16 – Consecutive seasons in top half of Southland Conference Outdoor team standings (1989-2005)
22 – Gulf Star Conference event championships won by NSU competitors coached by Leon Johnson
29 – NCAA Indoor Championship qualifiers from Northwestern State in the Johnson Era
31 – Seasons coaching cross country and track & field at Northwestern State by Leon Johnson. Only basketball coach H. Lee
Prather (1913-49, 36 seasons) has been a head coach longer at Northwestern.
49 – Years Leon Johnson has coached high school and college track and field in Louisiana; 2 more in Colorado
51 – Southland Conference Indoor event championships won by NSU competitors in the Johnson Era
57 – NCAA Division I All-America awards earned by NSU competitors in Leon Johnson’s tenure
83 – Southland Conference Outdoor event championships won by NSU competitors during the Johnson Era
93 – NCAA Outdoor Championship qualifiers from Northwestern State in Leon Johnson’s career

Quotes on
Coach Leon Johnson
can at NSU. Leon knew how to evaluate and recognize talent and potential.
“Next, he loved the sports of track and field and cross country! And he did everything to promote the sport. Again, there are so many
examples that I could share but it just showed in everything he did.
1. He still attends the LHSCA, Louisiana High School Coaches Association, clinic every summer! Of course, he has been a speaker at
the event so many times but the year’s he doesn’t speak, he is always there, listening, learning and supporting the other speakers. He is
one of the very few college coaches in attendance and certainly the only one on an annual basis.
2. He dedicates his time assisting ALL kids interested in learning about track and field or running in general. A typical summer day will
find him assisting a local youth on running technique or how to high jump, long jump, etc. He speaks at so many camps, clinics, high
school meets, and meetings year after year.
3. The State High School Cross Country meet is run on his shoulders, back and legs. He has been meet director for almost 30 years,
and helped grow that event to a major championship for the LHSAA, and a big event for the city of Natchitoches and Northwestern
State University.
“Finally, Coach was/is a great mentor, teacher and coach. He is the epitome of what a coach should be. He took young people at whatever
level they were at and their performances always improved. I remember him most, not for coaching the All-Americans, but the
thousands of others who weren’t at that level but were eager to improve and encouraged them to make running a part of their lifestyle;
not just for your four years of college but for a lifetime.
“As I concluded my 3 mile “run” this morning, my thoughts drifted back to August 1982 when I first met Leon Johnson. He asked me
would I run track and cross country for him. Little would I know that that invitation and his subsequent mentoring and guidance has
turned into a 30-year career as a student and employee at NSU. Fortunately, I was able to compete for those four years and coach with
him for six more.
“I know that there will be many times in the future when I lace up my shoes for my morning run that I will think about Coach Johnson
and the influence that he has had on my life.”
— Chris Maggio, former athlete, assistant coach, women’s head coach; now NSU Foundation Director
“In 1994, I was a student at Hutchinson Community College when I first met Coach Johnson. He recruited me to be member of the
throws team at Northwestern State. I’m grateful because he gave me the opportunity to further my education and career as a successful
athlete.
“Over the years, I’ve watched him manage a greatly accomplished program at NSU, and I couldn’t have learned from a better person;
he’s been a wonderful mentor to me and others.
“It’s amazing to watch how he’s influenced so many peoples’ lives with what he’s done at Northwestern. That’s not just those of us on
campus, but it’s coaches and athletes at other schools, and people from all walks of life. He has showed by example how to serve others.
Year after year the coaches and athletes in our program are helping with Special Olympics, with high school meets, with many great
community causes, and it makes all of us better for the experience.
“I owe Coach Johnson everything. He gave me the opportunity to compete here, where I met my wife and where I at home. He allowed
me to become an assistant coach which has led me down the path I am on now.
“He’s a firm believer that having a good education is the key to a promising and successful future; a motto he lives by and stresses to
all athletes. That is a motto I hope to carry on as a coach.
“His legacy will always be remembered; no one will ever replace such a humble, hard-working and caring individual!”
— Mike Heimerman, former athlete, assistant coach and current head women’s coach at NSU
“Coach Johnson has had a profound impact on the lives of countless student-athletes over the years. His love and dedication to the sport
of track & field and to Northwestern State University is evident to all who come across his path, but more importantly, his love and
dedication to each individual athlete he coaches is insurmountable.
“As a former athlete and also a former employee of his, I can tell you that he has managed to find just the right balance of being your
coach and/or boss and being your friend, which is hard to do.
“As a student-athlete, there was a time when Coach Johnson believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. After two years of competing
and not living up to expected performance standards, I sat in his office in our post season meeting and cried tears of disappointment,
just knowing he was going to dismiss me from the team…. But he didn’t. The simple fact that he did not give up on me, knowing
that he believed in my abilities despite my lack of performance, was all I needed to succeed. The following season I broke the school
record at NSU, much in credit to Coach Johnson’s coaching abilities, but moreso because of his encouragement along the way.
“One thing I’ll always remember about Coach Johnson- Each year in our annual team meeting, he would tell the team that he only
had one rule: Do what is right. Do what is right and you’ll be successful in life. So simple, yet so profound.
“Coach Johnson is a tremendous role model, and someone I’m proud to call my friend.”
— Haley Blount, former athlete and assistant coach, now Associate Director of Alumni Affairs; Northwestern State University
“Leon Johnson has earned legendary status within the Southland Conference, as well as throughout the collegiate track and field community.
He’s been an outstanding first-class coach in leading the Demons to national prominence, and has always been a strong advocate
for Southland track and field. We are honored to have been associated with Leon for so many years, and we wish him well in his retirement!”
— Tom Burnett, Southland Conference commissioner
“I have had great respect for Coach Johnson ever since I came into the conference 14 seasons ago. As a first-time head coach, I
looked at successful teams in the Southland, and his program is the one I studied. For years it was so difficult to beat his teams. That
is how you build respect in the Southland Conference, a conference which is so difficult to win, and boy, does he have our respect at
Stephen F. Austin. Not only has his track and field team had great success at the conference level, but his program is unmatched for its
number of NCAA National Champions and All-Americans. Coach Johnson set the standard for national and regional excellence that
we all hope to attain at the end of our careers. Not only will I miss him as the leader of head coaches in the Southland, but also of his
knowledge of track and field and his ability to mentor young coaches and athletes. Personally, I will miss his friendship of the last 14
years, and how he treated me from the moment I became the head coach at SFA. I pray that God blesses he and his wife, Elaine, for
years to come in retirement and in whatever path God leads them.”
— Phil Olson, head coach, Stephen F. Austin
“Leon Johnson has spent 31 years as a college coach
and many as a high school coach. He has rightfully earned
many accolades throughout his career but I think the most
important legacy that he will leave will be the passion he
had for our sport and the countless student-athletes that
benefited from his tutelage.”
— Gary Stanley, head coach, Louisiana Tech
“Leon Johnson has done a tremendous job in directing
the program at Northwestern State throughout his tenure.
I’ll especially remember the well-coached and well-disciplined
teams we saw in competition. His impact on the
University and our sport in the state of Louisiana cannot be
measured. Leon leaves a great legacy behind for the people
of Natchitoches.”
— Dennis Shaver, head coach, LSU
“I coached with him for number of years and he’s one of the finest coaches I’ve ever been around. He’s respected by anyone who’s
ever been around him. On a personal level I’m going to miss him. Serving as the head of the Southland Conference track committee, he
was a real welcome base of knowledge and voice of reason for coaches in our conference.”
— Sean Brady, head coach, Southeastern Louisiana
“Coach Johnson is one of my favorites. There is not a more dedicated track coach in the country. He’s from the old school when
coaches and SIDs were friends no matter what school you worked for. They were people you enjoyed going out with after meets, meetings
and events. It’s too bad that all of us from that era have to retire. Good luck Coach.”
— Louis Bonnette, McNeese SID for 46 years, Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame member
“It is extremely rare to have someone dedicate over 30 years of their life to the same school in intercollegiate athletics. I have so many
great things do say about Coach Johnson that it is hard to put them into words. Not only was he a championship caliber coach, but he
is also a man of great integrity and character. I consider it a blessing to have been one of his student-athletes. He taught us how to work
as a team in order to reach a common goal and how to enhance ourselves within our own individual events, but more than anything he
made us better individuals. I look back on my time with Coach Johnson as son might look back on his time with his father.
“Quite simply….I am a better person today, because of Leon Johnson.”
— Tommy McClelland, former NSU athlete, now director of athletics at McNeese
“Leon Johnson was one of the first high school coaches I met when I came to LSU as a student assistant in the fall of 1976. He was
one of the leading coaches in the state and did everything within his reach to make high school track & field a better sport for the kids.
Leon was a great high school coach at DeRidder and to no one’s surprise a great college coach at Northwestern. He was a great coach
because he was a great teacher and never forgot why he started coaching, the kids.”
— Sam Seemes, CEO, U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
“Northwestern State University and our sport will miss this icon in our worlds. Leon Johnson has been a highly respected coach and
man of integrity who has molded thousands of lives throughout a storied coaching career. While he produced district and state champions
as a prolific high school coach, conference champions and all-Americans as a renowned collegiate coach, his greatest gratification
has been influencing the lives of young people and watching them grow into outstanding leaders, teachers, lawyers, doctors, and business
people.
“Many will tell you they are WHO they are because of the lessons he taught and the opportunities he provided when inviting them to
be a part of his track and field programs.
“His departure begins another chapter in his life….with some well-deserved time off with a wonderful family that so graciously
shared him with so many.
“It has been a genuine pleasure to work alongside Leon for the forty plus years I’ve known him and sharing a common goal of making
Track and Field better than when we found it.
“He CERTAINLY did his part.
— Stewart Blue, USA Track & Field Master Official, Southland Conference Referee, Lafayette, LA
“What an amazing coaching career Coach Johnson has had. His skills are second to none in developing student-athletes. He has done
such a great job in recognizing diamonds in the rough and an even better job in polishing them in to all-Americans and Olympic athletes,
and he’s been a great example to young coaches on his staff and in this athletic department.”
— Patric DuBois, Assistant AD/Special Projects, head women’s tennis coach, NSU
“Coach Johnson would come to work each and every day (and I mean every day!) since I began working with him back in 1998, and
not once did I hear any complaints. He worked hard and loved what he did, so there is little doubt why our track program has had the
success it has achieved during the three-plus decades of his tenure. On a personal level, I will truly miss working with him on a daily
basis. It will not be the same without Coach Johnson. It will definitely take time to adjust.”
— Dustin Eubanks, Assistant AD/Compliance, NSU
“I would like to convey my sincere congratulations on your retirement. You have touched many people by your generosity, your spirit,
and willingness to help others become the best they could be. I am indeed grateful to you for treating me as a member of your family.
Thanks can’t convey the gratitude that I feel for all the precious memories. Wish you all the best!”
— Brad Sievers, former athlete
“Coach Johnson is, and was, an amazing track coach. He has touched so many lives and made so many athletes happy to have been
trained by him. NSU Track and Field will never be the same without, as we used to say, “Old Man Johnson.” He may have been older
than us, but he loved the training and competition and winning just as much as we did. It was an honor for me and my teammates to
have met him and for him to have been our coach. Congratulations Coach Johnson for doing such a great service for Northwestern State
University and the NSU Track and Field Team! You will truly be missed. Love you coach!”
— DeJon Griffin, former athlete
“I am so thankful for Coach Johnson and his support for me as an athletic trainer. He let me do my job! I will never forget my experience
with him and our athletes. He gave me the best graduation gift ever….a NSU letterman’s jacket!!!”
— Ciara Taylor, former NSU graduate assistant athletic trainer for track & field
“No one taught me more about how to run and that there is actually technique involved. He took my 40 yard dash time from an
average 4.6 to 4.4 in a matter of 6 weeks and was one of the main reasons I got drafted in 1983 by the Montreal Expos organization. His
knowledge and methods will be missed and I will be forever grateful for the time he spent with me to make me a better athlete. We’ll
miss you Coach and I wish you nothing but great times during your retirement. Thanks for everything!!!!”
— Steve Graf, football/baseball athlete, 1979-1983, Graduate N Club Hall of Fame inductee
“When I heard Coach was retiring I felt compelled to share my gratitude for a man who helped send me to school and shape much of my
young adult hood. As a Ruston High senior, I felt like I was invincible. I couldn’t wait to fulfill my long time dream of running in college.
After a few recruiting trips to Louisiana schools I had the pleasure of meeting Coach Johnson for the first time. (I affectionately now call
him LEEEONN in my adoring old man voice). During my recruitment visit I remember him leaning down to pick up an injured butterfly
out of the walkway and gently placing it on a shrub. His concern for the butterfly immediately caught my attention. After just five
minutes with this grandfather-like figure, Northwestern State had earned my commitment and my heart.
“The four years to follow would be less than impressive on my part. I may have scored a total of five points in conference meets
while running for the Demons . I was battling a poorly understood medical condition that left me in a state of constant fear and in and
out of the emergency room. Despite the frustration, Coach Johnson continued to treat me with respect and patience. My junior season
I collapsed and lost consciousness at the indoor conference championships. After a long night in the ER I was asked to step away from
competing by my cardiologist and the NSU training staff. A painful thought to leave the sport I loved was followed by uncertainty of how
my college degree would be completed with such a lack of funds.
“Coach Johnson not only asked me to remain at NSU but allowed me to stay on as an assistant for the woman’s team. In doing so I
was able to keep my scholarship and finish my degree with Magna Cum Laude honors. I was later accepted to Physician Assistant School
and now manage a Family Practice Clinic in Chatham, Louisiana. The clinic is able to provide much needed medical care for the underserved
rural community.
“God placed me at NSU under Coach Leon Johnson for a purpose. That day when he picked up the butterfly my Father in heaven
knew he would eventually do the same for me. I often think of what he did by not only allowing me to stay on scholarship but showing
me compassion and love during such a difficult time in my life.
“He lifted me up when I could not lift myself and when any other coach would have walked right on by without a second thought.
I had no value to him or the team but he did not care about what I could do for him. He cared about me as a person and my future BEYOND
the sport. Thanks to him I am able to help others today.
“Thank you coach! I will forever remember your legacy of love.
With high regard and great respect,
— Linzie Ledford Hebert
“The first thing I would like to say about Coach is that he is a loyal man. If I am honest, I did not produce for him on the track like I
should have. He stuck by me, thus explaining where I am today. Being sure his athletes received a college education was as important to
him as winning Southland Conference championships, truly, more so.
“If I could say one thing to coach it would be thank you for making me the man I am today. I will forever be grateful to you for teaching
me life’s lessons (even if I was too young to understand at the time). A heartfelt thank you from me and my family.”
— Robert McCormack(1996-2000), Hebron KY
“If not for Walter Ledet, who came along first, there’s no doubt we would name the track complex after Leon Johnson. We all know
Coach Ledet thought the world of Leon. I’ve been around Northwestern since the late 1940s and we’ve never had any finer coach, or
person, that Leon. His record speaks for itself. You will find nobody who can say anything but good things about him. He’s loyal to his
athletes, to his coaches, to Northwestern, and he loves coaching.”
— Johnnie Emmons, Graduate N Club Hall of Fame athlete/coach
“There are coaches, and then, there are COACHES. Coach Johnson is a true coach in the sense that he has total compassion for his
athletes as individuals. He takes young people and trains them in the manner, physically, mentally, spiritually, like no one else I’ve ever
seen. He can get the best possible results out of anyone. He has certainly impacted my life and improved my approach to coaching and
mentoring young people.”
— Mike McConathy, Northwestern State basketball coach 1999-present