Florida State University Athletics
Florida State Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2021
Ngoni Makusha's path to Florida State's Hall of Fame started before he arrived when he represented his home country of Zimbabwe in the 2008 Olympics finishing fourth in the long jump. He never let up after that en route to becoming one of the greatest collegiate track athletes of all time.
Over his historic career as a Seminole from 2008-2011, Makusha won seven NCAA titles in the long jump, 100m and as a member of FSU's 4x100 relay team, six ACC Championships, and played a key role on Seminoles' 2008 NCAA National Championship team.
The eight-time All-American set an NCAA and ACC record in the 100m in 2011 that was the NCAA's standard for six years. His five NCAA individual titles rank as the second-most ever for an FSU male track athlete, and his eight All-America honors rank as the sixth most.
Makusha won the prestigious Bowerman Award and was named NCAA Male Track Athlete of the Year as a senior when his performance at the NCAA Outdoor Championship was heralded as one of the greatest ever. He won the 100-meter title in a collegiate record 9.89, added a long jump crown with a Drake Stadium record leap of 8.40 meters, then combined with teammates to capture the 4x100-meter relay. In doing so, he became just the fourth man in history to claim those three golds, joining legends Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis.
