Truman State University Athletics

Rod Staggs was a former Bulldog football player who graduated in 1966. During the years of 1967 and 1968, Staggs was the head coach at South Shelby (Mo.) High School. Staggs led track and field programs to 19 high school state championships, guided 58 state champion relay teams, 143 individual state champions and 28 All-Americans. He was the head coach at St. Louis Berkeley High School for 32 seasons, with his teams winning 16 state titles. He also won a pair of NAIA national track and field championships at Lindenwood University and coached in Loveland, Colo., winning two state championships at Loveland High School and one at Mountain View High School. He went on to coach on eight USA national teams, which competed in the World and Pan-American championships in Australia, Argentina, Canada, Poland, the United Kingdom, Qatar and Mexico .Staggs was selected by the USA team at the 1996 World Junior Championships to be the men's track and field assistant coach. He was chosen as the men's district track coach of the year 18 times, the Missouri track coach of the year 16 times, the Missouri men's sectional track coach of the year 15 times and the St. Louis Suburban East conference coach of the year 24 times. Staggs was also named the 1996 national high school men's track coach of the year and was the Inner-City Black Athletic League male county coach of the year three times. He also is an inductee of the National High School Athletic Coaches Association, Missouri Cross Country & Track & Field Coaches Association, the St. Louis Sports, Lindenwood University Athletics

Staggs was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2017 and was named the 39th Missouri Sports Legend in 2025.