Tracy Borah Memorial Scholarship

The Tracy Borah Memorial Wrestling Scholarship was established by Louie Carleo (‘74), Tracy’s family, friends and former wrestlers of Tracy’s to provide scholarship assistance to talented Western Colorado University student-wrestlers. This scholarship serves to celebrate the memory of Tracy Borah, who passed away in 1996, by supporting the kind of athlete he cared most about.

Leroy Tracy Borah graduated from Grand Junction High School in 1943. From there he began his journey to become one of the most respected and influential wrestling coaches in the history of small college athletics and specifically, the state of Colorado. Borah received his B.S. from Colorado State University in 1950 where he was a double threat on the wrestling mat and football field. He later earned his Masters in 1957 from then Western State College and later completed advanced studies at Arizona State University. Not only was he a pioneer in Colorado collegiate athletics, but Borah excelled in other areas of life. Tracy served as a paratrooper during World War II fighting for the U.S. Armed Forces while also playing professionally in the Glen Miller Jazz Big Bands while stationed in France.

He began his coaching career in 1950 at Sedgwick High School (Colorado) in football, basketball, and track & field where he also taught social studies and biology. Borah then moved to Haxtun High School (Colorado) where he coached the same three sports and taught the same academics.

Tracy moved to the collegiate level in July of 1954 at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado. This was his first experience instructing grapplers along with coaching football and track & field and teaching biology. He developed the first football program at Northeastern along with building the track, a strenuous activity and took dedication and resilience.

From Northeastern Junior College, Borah came to Western State College where his legacy would reach its pinnacle. The success of athletics at Western State College can be attributed to his hard work and dedication and love for Western. He arrived at then WSC in 1956 where he served as athletic director, head wrestling coach, assistant football and track coach until his retirement in 1985.

As head wrestling coach, Borah guided 45 individual RMAC champions, 30 All-Americans, 7 national champions and back-to-back National championship teams in 1963/1964. Tracy served on the National Wrestling Rules Committee and the founder and director of the Rocky Mountain Wrestling Camps for 22 years, which today is the longest running wrestling camp in the United States. He also started the Colorado Collegiate Wrestling Championships and was president of the Mountain Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. Borah also was responsible for developing the first athletic booster club ,the Century Club, which is now the Mountaineer Athletic Association.

Some of Borah’s crowning achievements are as follows: inducted into the Colorado High School Coaches Hall of Fame (1989); Western Colorado University Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame (1995); NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame (1996); Colorado Sports Hall of Fame (1998); National Wrestling Hall of Fame Colorado Chapter (2000); RMAC Hall of Fame (2005) and RMAC All-Century Team Coach (2009). In 1979 he was awarded the Coach of the Year by the Colorado Wrestling Coaches Association and the College Educator of the Year. He received Professor of Emeritus from WCU in 1996. The Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame Room and Wrestling room are dedicated to Tracy for the many individuals that hold a high regard of respect for their coach.

Tracy believed that the pursuit of education and the perseverance in athletics could not be taken away from you if you strived for the best. He was a man of integrity and was loved and respected by many.

ELIGIBILITY
-Need: Not necessarily considered for only financial needs.
-Athletics: Must be a very promising wrestler. Must be a very accomplished wrestler.
-Year in School (after completion of current spring semester): Must have completed his freshman year and could be a red-shirted freshman.
-GPA: 2.5 or higher