University of Central Missouri Athletics

The 1976 Mules’ cross country team, coached by Jim Pilkington, tied for eighth at the NCAA Division II

Championship in Springfield.  Individually, Ron Tabb finished sixth at the national meet and the late Rick Clear, a Hall of Fame inductee last year, finished 21st.  Tabb’s sixth-place finish allowed him to become the first CMSU athlete to advance to the NCAA Division I Championship.  During the regular season the Mules won the Missouri Intercollegiate meet, which included most of the college teams in Missouri.  They finished second in the MIAA meet behind Southwest Missouri.