Hall of Fame
Galen Piper was the head coach of the Shippensburg University women’s track and field team since its inceptions in the spring of 1979 until 1998 and the head coach of the women’s cross country team since it was established in the fall of 1979 until 1997. He was also the head coach of the men’s track and field team for the 1997-98 season.
Piper has enjoyed many successes through the years and left coaching on a high note as both his women’s team won PSAC championships in 1997 while his men’s track team placed second at the PSAC outdoor championship.
A native of Newville, Piper was a 1979 graduate of Shippensburg University where he competed in wrestling and track and field for the Red Raiders and was a PSAC placewinner in the discus.
The Lady Raider track and field team had an impressive 78-18 dual meet record under Piper. In 1983, Shippensburg began a 40-meet win streak that covered five seasons and included a mark of 12-0 in 1984. The team won four PSAC championships, the first of which came in 1984. In addition, both the 1993 and 1994 teams won conference titles as well as the 1998 Lady Raiders.
The 1996 and 1997 women’s cross country teams were the two finest in University history as both teams won the PSAC and NCAA Division II East Region championships. The 1996 team had a 77-15-1 record against opponents and placed 12th at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships while the 1997 team was 108-5 and finished sixth at the national championships.
Neither the 1996 nor 1997 cross country teams lost to a non-Division I team until the NCAA championships.
Piper was recognized as ECAC Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year in 1993 and 1998, PSAC Track and Field Coach of the Year in 1993, 1994 and 1998 and NCAA Division East Region Coach of the Year in 1993, 1994 and 1998. Following both the 1996 and 1997 women’s cross country seasons, he was selected Coach of the Year by the ECAC, PSAC and NCAA Division II East Region.
The women’s track team won ECAC championships in 1993 and 1998. Under Piper, the Lady Raider track team was the first PSAC women’s team to win the ECAC indoor championship and we were the only one to win until Kutztown won it in 2001. That was the final year that PSAC schools competed in the event as the PSAC Indoor Track and Field Championships started in 2002.
Shippensburg female student-athletes won 35 individual PSAC championships, 11 relay titles and attained All-America status 18 times during Piper’s tenure. The male student-athletes won four conference championships and had one All-American in 1998.
Since retiring from coaching in June of 1998, Piper has continued his work with the University as its Director of Recreation, Intramurals, Club Sports and Facilities during which he has been involved in the planning and building of a new 64,000 square feet student recreation building, located between Heiges Field House and Seth Grove Stadium which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2007.
