UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - Saginaw Valley State University honored the legendary Track & Field, Cross Country Head Coach Doug Hansen with a special ceremony on Friday at the SVSU Fieldhouse.

With several of his former student-athletes and colleagues in attendance, and with the support from a generous gift by SVSU track & field/cross country alum Fred Harring, the indoor track in the SVSU Fieldhouse was named the Douglas E. Hansen Indoor Track. 

Hansen was the man who created the Cardinal track and cross country programs at Saginaw Valley State in 1975. It did not take long for the program to get going, as the 1977 cross country team finished second in the nation in the NAIA. For the next seven seasons, Saginaw Valley absolutely dominated the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and District 23 of the NAIA, winning 41 of 42 possible track and cross country titles under Hansen's leadership until he retired after the 1984 season.

Hansen coached 44 different student-athletes that earned All-American honors at Saginaw Valley and over 60 in his career. From 1977-84, his cross country teams never finished less than fourth in the nation. His track teams claimed a pair of national championships in the 1982 and 83 seasons. He was both the men's GLIAC Indoor & Outdoor "Coach of the Year" for the 1981-84 seasons. Hansen was named NAIA National "Coach of the Year" in both 1982 and 83 and was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1987. Hansen was inducted into the SVSU Cardinal Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.

SVSU also debuted a new video board for the Douglas E. Hansen Indoor Track that was installed earlier this week.