Mike Cotton (pole vaulter)

{{Short description|American pole vaulter (born 1951)}}

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| name = Mike Cotton

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| fullname = Richard Michael Cotton

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| national_team = {{USA}}

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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1951|4|9|mf=y}}

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| sport = Track and field

| event = Pole vault

| collegeteam = University of Florida

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Richard Michael Cotton (born April 9, 1951){{cite web |url=http://atfs.org/historical/Athletics-Annual-1974.pdf |title=1973 Best Performances List |publisher=Association of Track and Field Statisticians |accessdate=April 24, 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425000243/http://atfs.org/historical/Athletics-Annual-1974.pdf |archivedate=April 25, 2014 }} is a former American college and international track and field athlete who was the United States national champion pole vaulter.

Cotton attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he was a member of the Florida Gators track and field team. He was the 1973 National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) pole vault champion, as well as the Southeastern Conference (SEC) champion in 1971 and 1973. He earned All-American recognition in 1973 and he was an All-SEC selection in 1971, 1972 and 1973. He held the University of Florida's pole vault record of seventeen feet, six inches for fourteen years and was a member of the 1976 USA National Team. In 1973, he was U.S. Outdoor National Pole Vault Champion{{cite web|url=http://www.usatf.org/statistics/champions/USAOutdoorTF/men/mPV.asp |title=USATF - Statistics - USA Outdoor Track & Field Champions |accessdate=2012-09-07 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070421184810/http://www.usatf.org/statistics/champions/USAOutdoorTF/men/mPV.asp |archivedate=2007-04-21 }} USATF Pole Vault Champions and Pan-Am Games champion.

Cotton graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1973, and he was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2009.F Club, Hall of Fame, [http://www.gatorfclub.org/hall-of-fame/greats Gator Greats]. Retrieved December 18, 2014."[http://www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=15784 Eight 2009 Honorees Inducted Into UF Athletic Hall of Fame] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004070832/http://www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=15784 |date=2012-10-04 }}," GatorZone.com (April 17, 2009). Retrieved July 22, 2011.

Cotton founded and manages Cotton's All Lines Insurance in Gainesville, Florida.