Hall of Fame
Bruce Craddock competed in football and other sports at Rich Township East in Park Forest, IL before enrolling at the university in 1962. He helped the football Bulldogs capture two MIAA conference championships and earned honorable mention All-Conference recognition as a senior lineman. After receiving a B.S.E. degree in 1966, he worked one year as a graduate assistant at the university. He joined the Marine Corps and served in Vietnam, rising to the rank of captain. After his military service he returned to campus to work on an M.A. degree, which he received in 1971, and served as an assistant football coach and wrestling coach. He left the university for a three-year stint as assistant coach at the University of Vermont. Coach Craddock returned to his alma mater in 1975, and for the next four years, he served as offensive and defensive line coach and offensive coordinator. He was appointed Bulldog head coach after the 1978 season. In the next four years, his teams compiled a 24-19-0 record and won two MIAA titles. The 1982 team was ranked fourth in NCAA Division II and advanced to the Division II national post-season playoffs. He was a two-time MIAA Coach of the Year. He left the university after the 1982 campaign to take the head football coaching job at Western Illinois in Macomb, a Division 1-AA school. The 1988 WIU squad won more games than any previous Western Illinois Team, was ranked second in the I-AA national poll and advanced to the I-AA playoffs. Coach Craddock was selected as the Kodak 1-AA Region V Coach of the Year. He was also a member of the American Football Coaches Association All-America Selection Committee for 1-AA.
