Bob Hayes. Tim Montgomery. Rey Robinson. Neville Hodge. Steve Riddick.

The list of Olympians from MEAC member schools goes on and on.

And there is a solid contingent of athletes with ties to the MEAC in Beijing for the XXIX Summer Games, pursuing Olympic glory and adding another chapter to the conference’s rich tradition.

Leading the group is David Oliver, the former Howard University All-American and four-time MEAC champion who is projected to medal for the USA in the 110 meter hurdles.

  Other MEAC athletes competing in Beijing:

?         Maryland Eastern Shore junior Allodin Fothergill, representing Jamaica. Fothergill is the 2008 MEAC 200 meter indoor champion and the 400 meter outdoor champion. He ran a 45.92 in the 400 meter at the Jamaica National Championship.

?         Former Norfolk State sprinters Chris Brown, representing Bahamas in the 400 meters and the 4x400 meter relay, and Chandra Sturrup, representing the Bahamas in the 100 meter dash and the 4x100 meter relay. Brown, a two-time All-American for the Spartans (2000-01), set the MEAC 400 meter outdoor record with a time of 45.60 in 2001, and won a silver medal at the World Championships that year. Sturrup is competing in her fourth Olympics. She is a two-time medalist, having won Silver in Atlanta in 1996 as a member of the Bahamian 4x100 meter relay team and gold in Sydney in 2000.

?         Bethune-Cookman coach Garfield Ellenwood, coach of the Liberian National team; assistant coach Kia Davis, representing Liberia in the 400 meter, and Wildcats volunteer assistant coach Angela Williams, a sprinter for the USA. Williams is the 2008 World Indoor 60 meter champion and the 2001 and 2003 silver medalist. She is a four-time NCAA 100 meter champion.

?         Hampton University coach Maurice Pierce, technical advisor for the Liberian National team and personal coach for American hurdler David Payne.

MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas says this group of Olympians reinforces his long held contention that the athletic programs in the conference do not focus only on football and basketball.

“We have outstanding athletes in all sports,’’ Thomas says. “Having this kind of representation is not only an achievement for the student-athletes, but also for the coaches and institutions because it’s a select group that is selected to compete in the Olympics. It also gives branding to the MEAC in terms of the caliber of athletes competing in the conference.’’

Oliver, a 2004 Howard graduate, is making his Olympic debut. He qualified for Beijing by winning the U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials finals with a time of 12.95 seconds.

The Denver native has three of the world's top five times in his event this season. His time of 12.95 at the Olympic Trials is second to the world record of 12.87 run by Dayron Robles of Cuba. Oliver also won the U.S. indoor title in February.

“If nothing goes wrong, he a good chance of winning a medal,’’ says Howard coach Michael Merritt, who saw “a tall, gangly guy with a lot of potential’’ when he recruited Oliver.

Merritt says Oliver’s strengths are his speed and improved technique.

“He’s a sound technician, and he has a strong finish,’’ Merritt says. “He’s always had a strong second part to his race.’’

Merritt had Oliver run on the 4x400 meter relay team to improve his strength. Oliver’s time in 110 meter hurdles was 14.29 when he arrived at Howard. He got down to 13.55 his senior year.

Merritt says he knew Oliver was special after he made the NCAA All-American team following his junior year.

Oliver trained with legendary old school coach Brooks Johnson in Orlando, Fla., after graduating from Howard. Johnson put Oliver on a three-year training plan leading up to the Beijing Games.

Johnson has trained athletes who made Olympic teams in each of the Games since 1968. Johnson is particularly with Oliver’s development because he had hoped to have an athlete from an HBCU compete in Beijing.

“With integration, fewer athletes from historically black colleges and universities are making these teams,’’ Johnson told The Hilltop, the Howard University student newspaper.

Oliver is following in the footsteps of his mother, Brenda Chambers, an All-American hurdler who competed in the 1980 Olympic Trials. Oliver learned about his mother’s track prowess by accident. When he was 12 he discovered memorabilia ? old track spikes, faded media guides and awards ? from her career boxed up in a closet.

That piqued his interest in track in general, and the hurdles in particular.  Initially, he was leery of the distance he would have to run, and asked his mother if there was a 40-yard event. He made the Denver East High track as a sophomore and also played football.

Oliver played football for one season at Howard after exhausting his eligibility in track. 

He was a backup wide receiver, but he made his biggest impact on special teams. His size ? 6-2, 205 -- and speed made him an imposing figure covering kicks.

Having been away from football for so long, Oliver realized it would be a long shot for him to make a career on the gridiron. He hadn’t thought much of a pro career in track either until American record holder Dominique Arnold suggested in 2004 that he give it a shot.

Oliver endured some difficult times in the early stages of his career. He shared an apartment in Orlando with three other athletes, drove a beat up 1992 Chevy and ate cereal for almost every meal. He struggled to finish his practice session under Johnson. But he stuck with it, and now he lives in a townhouse, drives a Jaguar and can eat out whenever he wants.

Still, Oliver hopes the best is yet to come, beginning with a medal in Beijing.