FAYETTEVILLE — Now Lance Harter has done it all.
The longtime Razorbacks' women's coach has experienced everything one can on a college campus. He has a Ph.D, 24 SEC championships and 14 national titles at the Division-II level coaching Cal Poly.
He was inducted into the track & field hall of fame last December. He has coached in the Olympics.
But the national championship at the highest level had eluded Harter for two-and-a-half decades. His Razorbacks had finished runner-up at NCAA meets four times before finally breaking through Saturday.
Arkansas' women won their first team national championship at Randal Tyson Track Center, solidifying Harter as one of the best coaches to call the Fayetteville campus home. He joins Frank Broyles, Nolan Richardson, John McDonnell and Chris Bucknam as the only Razorbacks coaches to win national titles.
Harter is the only coach to do it in a female sport.
"It's definitely a historical moment," Harter said in the moments following his team clinched the championship. "We've been blessed to win 24 SEC titles. A national championship has always kind of been there. We've been able to get some trophies, but never the gold one. To win the first one is really sweet.
"To do it at home, oh my gosh."
Harter, quick to defer credit and glory to his athletes, has built a great program at Arkansas largely overlooked within the fan base because of the behemoth McDonnell created on the same tracks. Forty-one national championship trophies are encased in the walkway to the Tyson Center, but none belonged to Harter's women.
It won't be that way much longer.
"He was always an incredible coach, but any time you hang a national championship banner by your name, it just says something extra special," Arkansas athletics director Jeff Long said. "I'm super excited for Lance because he's been so close for so many years."
Harter's teams flourished the past few years, winning seven of the last nine conference championship meets in the three sports he coaches. Arkansas has top 10 finishes in five consecutive NCAA meets.
After finishing third at the indoor meet in Albuquerque, New Mexico, last year, Harter knew he had a great team for the 2015 indoors. During an interview in his office late last year, I asked Harter about his prospects for this season. With a smile he replied, "You'll see."
The Razorbacks jumped to the forefront of the women's standings midway through the year. Dominique Scott and Sandi Morris set themselves apart in distance events and the pole vault, and both won individual titles in their final indoor season.
Sprinters Chrishuna Williams and Taylor Ellis-Watson also emerged on the national scene. Most of those who scored in this weekend's NCAA meet will compete outdoors, making Arkansas a candidate for a second title in June.
"I've always said that people are surprised I can get a tan because I've always been in the shadow of John McDonnell," Harter said. "Maybe I can stand out in the sun a little more now."