SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Arizona State Hall of Fame jumper Dwight Phillips was named to the 52-member Pac-12 All-Century Men’s Track & Field team which was announced Monday night during Pac-12 Networks’ flagship show, ‘Pac-12 Sports Report.’
Phillips, who was inducted into the ASU Hall of Fame in 2010, was the only Sun Devil named to the All-Century team and the fifth overall between the men's and women's honorees.
When he transferred to ASU in 1999, Phillips expected to be a 400-meter runner as he was at Kentucky, but head coach Greg Kraft had other plans.
In his two seasons, Phillips was a four-time outdoor All-American, earning the honor in the long and triple jump in 1999. He turned around the next year and made it back-to-back All-American honors in the long jump while being a part of the 4x100-meter relay in 2000.
He also won the Pac-10 Championship in the long and triple jump in 1999, while also winning the conference titles in the long jump and 4x100-meter relay in 2000 as well.
To this day, Phillips still holds the ASU record in the long jump at 8.21 meters (26-11.25) set in 2000. He also has the third-best triple jump mark in school history. The sixth and eighth best 4x100 times ran in school history also include Phillips.
After his short yet historical year in Tempe, Phillips went on to compete at the highest level possible. As a part of Team USA, he competed at the World Championships every two years from 2001 through 2013 while compiling four golds and one bronze medal. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, he won his first gold medal in the long jump.
This team was voted on by a panel of 35 consisting of coaches, former athletes, administrators and members of the media. The top two vote getters in each of the 19 events automatically qualified for the squad. The remaining 12 spots, in addition to ties, were selected from a wildcard ballot consisting of the third, fourth and fifth place vote getters in each event. Athletes with two or more events next to their name finished in the top two in each of those events.
Forty-eight of the 52 members of the team are Olympians, and represent 10 different decades and nine different countries.