Curt Dowdy beamed as he reflected on his start as Jacksonville High School’s track & field coach.
“When I first started teaching, as I was walking through the breeze way, Coach Gideon T. Johnson came over to talk to me. I was a young buck,” Dowdy said. “He asked where I came from and I told him how I was a track athlete and then he asked me if I would be interested in helping the track team.”
That conversation happened in 1980. Five years later, Dowdy became head coach, a position he still holds as he continues to make Jacksonville track & field a state power.
Because of his contributions, the 71-year-old Dowdy will be inducted into the Providence Bank Sports Hall of Fame on May 21 at Sturgeon City Environmental Center.
Dowdy will be recognized with Douglas Banks, Doug Erny, Greg Grantham and Rookie Davis.
“I never did what I did to make a hall of fame. I did it to make kids the best they could be,” Dowdy said. “But this is a big honor, and I thank my lord and savior because he’s the one who kept me moving forward over the years. And I thank my mom and dad.
“God has a plan for all of us, and me being in Onslow County over the years working with track & field at Jacksonville High School has been an honor for me. The achievements we’ve had have been blessings.”
Former Swansboro coach John Liles, also in the hall of fame, said Dowdy deserves the honor.
“His teams have won state championships, and he even coached an Olympian,” Liles said. “I am really happy for my friend Curt. It was an honor to coach against him all those years.”
Under Dowdy, the Jacksonville girls’ squad has won 25 conference championships, 11 East Regional titles and won state crowns in 1991, 1993 and 2008 while finishing second three other times and once in indoor track.
The boys’ team has won six conference titles, two regional crowns, and won state championships in 2005 and 2016. Dowdy has also coached 82 individual state indoor and outdoor champions.
But while winning was important, Dowdy also used track & field in other ways.
“I wanted them to have fun and have memorable experiences that they would cherish for the rest of their lives,” he said. “We are not just coaches, we also teach life skills, and I also wanted them to learn how to work to achieve things. What I always asked them to do was to give their best.”
Dowdy certainly went the extra mile as a coach.
He also coached junior varsity boys’ basketball from 1985 to 1991, varsity girls’ basketball from 1992 to 2002 and he started the Jacksonville Express Track Club, which existed from 1983 to 2004. Jackie Humphrey, a 1988 Olympian, participated in the program.
Others took notice of Dowdy’s work.
He received a Proclamation from the Mayor of Jacksonville in 1991 for coaching Onslow County’s first girls’ state champion and he was honored at the opening ceremony of the New Bern Track & Field facility in 2005.
Dowdy was inducted into the hall of fame of his alma mater, Union Pines, in 2009, for his contributions to the track & field and football teams. He was a two-time all-conference track & field athlete, finishing as a state runner-up in the long jump in 1971 and earning conference track MVP honors in 1973.
In 2024, the Onslow County Track & Field meet was named the Liles-Dowdy Onslow County Track & Field Championships. In 2025, he was inducted into the Jacksonville High Hall of Fame.
“He is always asked to be on the games committee due to the statewide respect coaches have for his judgement, knowledge and temperament,” White Oak coach Chris Mueller said. “He is willing to share his knowledge, even with rival schools. Coach Dowdy has allowed White Oak athletes to come jump with Jacksonville kids, and he has always shared his expertise.”
Dowdy continues to offer his words of wisdom now.
“I have enjoyed it over the years, and I still do enjoy it,” he said. “Having kids who want to learn and be the best they can be is what keeps me going. I want them to keep putting their best foot forward.”
Chris Miller can be contacted via email at cmiller@jdnews.com. Follow him on X @jdnsports.