Chuck Stiggins was born on September 3, 1953, in Tampa, Florida to Frank and Juanita
Stiggins. He was the second of three children, having an older brother, Joe, and a
younger sister, Melody. Chuck's love and excellence in sports was obvious at an early
age. At age 5, he won the Florida state championship in Judo. He loved to play football
and baseball as a child.
The summer before starting the 9th grade, Chuck's father, who was in the United States
Air Force, was transferred to the Netherlands. Chuck and his brother attended an
international school in the southern part of the country. Chuck competed in football,
wrestling, track & field, and baseball. Stiggins played varsity football in the 9th grade,
the first freshman to ever play varsity at the school. Over the next four years, Stiggins
lettered in all four sports, made the All-European football team his junior and senior year,
and was all conference in football, wrestling, and track and field. These athletic
competitions provided Stiggins with the opportunity to travel all over Europe.
Stiggins' interest in strength training began during these high school years. His high
school athletic program did not offer an organized strength training program. Chuck,
however, loved weight training and would regularly visit the gym at the NATO military
installation. There were a variety of weight-lifters training there. Some were power
lifters, others were Olympic-style weight lifters, and others were body builders. Stiggins
was exposed to a wide range of weight lifting techniques and philosophies, and Chuck
was drawn to powerlifting. As he trained, he began to see significant improvement in his
athletic performance in all four sports.
Upon graduating from high school, Stiggins returned to the US and received a
scholarship to play football at Ricks College in Idaho. While there, Chuck began
competitively powerlifting in the 181 and 198-pound weight class. He finished his
football career at Southern Utah University where he continued to lift competitively.
Upon graduating with his bachelor's degree, Stiggins attended Brigham Young
University to pursue his Master's degree. In addition, he was a graduate assistant in the
University's football program. His responsibilities included developing and overseeing
the strength and conditioning programs for the athletes. The legendary Coach Lavell
Edwards was extremely impressed with the athletes' gains in power and speed, as well as
with the significant reduction in injuries. Consequently, Stiggins was offered a full-time
position at the University as its first full-time strength and conditioning coach.
Chuck remained at BYU in this capacity for the next 25 years, coaching 21 sports with
over 600 athletes. During this time, BYU football dominated, participating in 21 major
bowl games, winning 17 conference championships, ten of them consecutively, as well
as becoming the 1984 National Champions. In addition, the University's intercollegiate
athletic teams combined won the Conference Supremacy Trophy each year, an award
presented to the university whose athletics teams won more athletic championship than
any other university in the conference that year. The success of the BYU Athletic
Department during this time resulted in two Outland Trophy Winners, a Heisman Trophy
Winner, as well as literally hundreds of All-Conference and All-American athletes. After
finishing their careers at BYU, many of these athletes went on to compete on the
professional level in a variety of sports. Coach Stiggins' strength and conditioning
program became widely known and respected, and undoubtedly played a major role in
helping these athletes reach their full athletic potential.
During this time, he also returned to the classroom and obtained his doctorate degree. He
was widely published and developed a computerized strength training program, which is
used by numerous high schools and colleges across the country. Also during his tenure at
BYU, he met and married his wife, Becky, and they have three children: Brooke,
Whitney, and Tyson, as well as two grandsons: Derrick and Dallen.
In 2000, Stiggins began to see the need to develop an organization specifically designed
for collegiate strength and conditioning coaches to promote unity, respect, and
professional development. He and a group of fellow coaches who shared his concerns, as
well as his vision, met in Las Vegas in May 2000 to explore the possibility of creating
just such an organization. The group voted unanimously to create a professional,
educational organization, which became known as the Collegiate Strength and
Conditioning Coaches association (CSCCa). A Board of ten collegiate Strength and
Conditioning Coaches was formed and met in Park City, Utah in July. Stiggins was
chosen to be the organization's first president and executive director. He continues to
serve as the organization's executive director. These Board members worked
relentlessly, hammering out the organization's structure and goals, developing among
other things, the premier certification program in the industry! The rest is history. The
CSCCa is now nine years old and will be celebrating its tenth anniversary next year in
2010! Membership in the association has grown to well over 1,000 members! All this
has been made possible, not only because of the tremendous support Chuck received
from those original coaches and Board members who shared his vision for this extremely
important group of professionals, but also because of the support and commitment shown
by each of you who are in attendance here tonight, including our generous sponsors! The
profession is undoubtedly stronger, more organized, and more effective than ever as
members work together to improve the respect and status of the strength and conditioning
coaching profession.
Stiggins has received a variety of awards and recognition for his contributions in the field
of strength and conditioning. In 2001, he became one of the first ten individuals to
receive the prestigious MSCC title, Master Strength and Conditioning Coach, the
highest honor that can be achieved as a strength and conditioning coach. Chuck was
inducted into the USA Strength and Conditioning Coaches' Hall of Fame in 2003 and
was the recipient of the 2003 President's Award, presented by the Professional Football
Society, an award which recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to
the profession of sports and strength and conditioning. This is an especially fitting tribute
to an individual who has had such a major impact. Dr. Chuck Stiggins—a true Legend in
the field!
