Traverse City schools rename track stadium for Coach John Lober

Traverse City Area Public Schools put John Lober’s name on its track and field stadium at Traverse City Central High School, a unanimous move that turned decades of local recognition into a permanent campus landmark.

The board of education voted unanimously at its Monday meeting to rename the facility the John Lober Track and Field Stadium. The decision honored a coach who built one of Michigan’s most respected boys track and field programs over more than half a century in Traverse City.

Lober coached boys track and field at Traverse City Central for 52 years, from 1977 until his retirement in 2021. During that span, the Michigan High School Coaches Association says he spent 31 years coaching track, guided teams to 16 undefeated seasons and finished with a 202-27-2 record. His work also extended beyond track, part of a coaching career that shaped generations of athletes across multiple sports.

The naming also tied the stadium to a tradition already familiar to local runners and fans. The Record-Eagle John Lober Honor Roll Track Meet has been held in Traverse City for decades, and it reached its 51st annual running on May 27, 2025. The meet began in 1974 and spent its first three years at Suttons Bay High School before moving to Traverse City Central when that school built its own track facility.

Lober’s influence reached well beyond seasonal results. In 2022, he was inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame, adding national recognition to a reputation that had long been established in Grand Traverse County. The stadium naming now links that honor directly to the place where much of his career unfolded.

TCAPS, the largest district in northwestern Michigan, has seven elected board members, and the unanimous vote underscored how broad the support was for the tribute. At Traverse City Central, where the annual honor roll meet has kept his name on the schedule for years, the stadium’s new title now makes that legacy part of the school’s everyday identity.