Jerheme Urban, Trinity
(by Justin Parker, Trinity Sports Information Director)

Although the concept of the Spring Sports Festival will end with this year's event at Centre College and DePauw University, the memories of those student-athletes who gathered in late spring every year to compete in the name of school pride will endure.

Among those competitors was Jerheme Urban (2000-2003) of Trinity University and for all who witnessed his historic track and field exploits, the Legend of Urban was no urban legend.

As a senior, Urban won five individual events at the 2003 SCAC Championship, wrapping up a career as a track & field star that may never be matched again.  He was an unprecedented four-time SCAC Athlete of the Year selection, and still holds four of the top nine point totals in conference meet history.  His 50 points in 2003 is still the most ever in SCAC history.

What makes his record-setting overall performance even more amazing was the fact that he was also being looked at by teams for the NFL draft, which was going on at the same time as the SCAC Meet.

“I was constantly getting calls from different NFL teams on Saturday – which was the second day of the draft – so I had to keep my phone by me at all times,” reveals Urban.  “In the end it all worked out, and I didn’t have to put off any calls to run an event.”

That senior season (2003) was also his favorite Spring Sports Festival moment, leading the men’s team to a team championship in the same year that the women’s team won.  Keeping “the Bell” was also a highlight that year for the star athlete. 

Urban won 12 individual titles in six events during his four years as one of the most dominating athletes in SCAC history.  He set four SCAC records from 2000-2003, and improved his point total each of his four years.  For Urban, the Spring Sports Festival still elicits some of his fondest memories.
 

“The Spring Sports Festival was always about school pride in my eyes. It was a place where all of the schools were going to gather together, and compete one last time for that school year – usually with the winner taking home the Bell Trophy. It almost had an "Olympics" type atmosphere that I looked forward to every year.”

Urban has been playing in the National Football League since his graduation in 2003, and made a significant mark as a Trinity University football wide receiver (he still holds four Tiger records) from 1999-2002.  But it was his incomparable career as a Tiger track & field athlete that solidified his status as one of the all-time greats.