Trails Blazed, Legacies Paved

Elmore “Mo” A. Banton first made Ohio University history in 1964, winning the NCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country Championship—50 yards ahead of his closest rival—and becoming OHIO’s first NCAA cross country champion.

He went on to coach the OHIO cross country and track and field teams for 23 years, earning 20 Coach of the Year honors and guiding the Bobcats to 10 MAC titles, 14 All-Ohio championships and six Central Collegiate crowns.

Banton’s hire marked another historic moment for Ohio University: the first African-American head coach of any sport.

“I was so scared when I first took that job because, being the first Black coach at Ohio University, I didn’t want to flub it. This was 1980,” he explains. “The second time I was scared was when I took over the women’s program [in 1986]. I was really scared! I decided, I’m going to coach them just like I do the men.”

He says his coaching mantra revolved around three words: “MAGIC: Making A Greater Individual Commitment. TEAM: Together Everyone Achieves More. And PRIDE: Positive mental attitude, Respect, Intensity, Discipline, Enthusiasm.”

An Akron native, Banton had been eyeing another state university or considering enlisting in the Army. Former OHIO Track & Field Head Coach Stan Huntsman, MS ’56, “one of the greatest coaches of all time,” Banton says, called him and persuaded him to come to OHIO.

Huntsman proved to be more than just a coach in Banton’s eyes. “I admired Coach Stan Huntsman. He was a tremendous mentor for me. That’s what made me want to coach.”

George E. Reid’s early days at Ohio University, including his successful career playing men’s basketball for OHIO 1985-89, “laid the foundation for his entire life,” says Karla Reid, BSJ ’93, of her husband, who died in 2015. “That’s why he was determined to give back in big and small ways wherever he was and with whomever he met.”

In July 1991, Reid was hired by the Ohio University Alumni Association to oversee major alumni initiatives. He is credited with transforming the Black Alumni Reunion into a signature event that welcomes thousands of Black Bobcats back to campus every three years.

“George understood that it’s the people in your life who can make an enormous difference, inspiring you to take on a new challenge, overcome adversity or make a different choice,” Karla says. “He wanted to be that person who made a difference in people’s lives, and he was."

His efforts on behalf of higher education continued at Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he was named Fundraiser of the Year in 1998. From there, his career as a fundraiser supporting students, faculty and programs took him to American University, Syracuse University, and the University of Southern California, where he served as assistant vice president for campus initiatives.

“George and I met at Ohio U, and our love took root and blossomed in Athens …,” Karla remembers. “Everything he did was about our sons, Quinn and Devin—now 17 and 15, respectively. Every single day was about teaching our sons how to grow up to be confident, caring and intelligent Black men.”