Troy University Athletics
Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2018
Eight-time conference coach of the year, Bob Lambert served as Troy’s director of track & field / cross country for 14 seasons and finished his career as one of the most successful coaches in school history.Â
“When Bob got to Troy, he was tasked with getting the program back,” former track coach and Troy University Sports Hall of Fame member John “Doc” Anderson said. “The men’s program was gone and the women’s team really didn’t have much. I would say he’s the father of our track program and where Troy is now.”
Lambert was hired in 1993 to help resurrect Troy’s track and field teams after a six-year absence. That didn’t slow Lambert down, who eventually led the Trojans to seven men’s conference titles and one women’s conference title, while more than 300 of his student-athletes earned all-conference honors – 194 men and 117 women.Â
“He was a good guy and the student-athletes he coached were good kids,” Anderson praised. “They were smart students with high GPAs, but just having a scholarship doesn’t make you run; head, heart, legs and lungs make you run, jump and throw. He understood that and was able to successfully develop those guys and girls and sent quite a few to nationals. If a coach can learn to develop kids the way Bob did, they’ll be successful.”
Under his watch, Michael Green was named the Atlantic Sun Athlete of the Year for all sports. Troy athletes were such a dominant force in the Atlantic Sun, that Trojan student-athletes held 13 league records when Troy made the move to the Sun Belt Conference.
“He was able to get two things done that I thought were excellent for the track program,” Anderson pointed out. “First, he was able to get the track surfaced with a rubberized surface and got it to the point where it is now. Secondly, despite being a one-man show - with the help of graduate students – he led a pretty successfully transition into the Sun Belt. He didn’t have a lot of help, but he got the job done.”
Among his eight coach of the year awards, Lambert was named the Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year on the men’s side five consecutive seasons from 2001 to 2005 and just missed an eight-year run by one season (2000). Lambert then helped lead Troy’s transition from the Atlantic Sun to the Sun Belt as he led the Troy men to a runner up finish in its first year in the league.Â
His commitment to the sport reached far past Troy’s walls as he served as the Alabama High School Athletic Association Track & Field Meet Director for 11 years, he was named the AHSAA Track and Field Official of the Year and he served on the U.S. Track & Field / Cross Country Association Division I Executive Committee.Â
“He was highly organized because was a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force and that carried over to his time here at Troy,” Anderson said. “His benchmark was he was well-organized, got along with the kids and he worked hard to provide the foundation for where we are track program is now.”
A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Lambert finished fifth in the javelin at the U.S. Olympic Trials. He set Air Force records in the high jump and javelin before returning to the service academy as an assistant coach in 1974. Following his graduation in 1965, Lambert served as a commissioned officer in the Air Force for 28 years with two tours in Vietnam and more than 400 combat hours of flying.Â
Following his retirement from Troy, Lambert continued his service to the University as a volunteer coach with the track & field / cross country programs for several years.
