He spent 18 years at Michigan State, initially as the track and field coach and then later adding cross country to his duties.

Born in Seafield, Indiana, Schlademn's ancestry traced back to the Plymouth Colony on his mother's side.

His father ran a mercantile and grain business in Seafield, and Karl graduated from Monticello High School, where he was a four-year letterman in both track and basketball.

Schlademan attended DePauw University in Greencastle; he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and played football, baseball, and was again a "star trackman."

Not having taken up football in high school, Schlademan did well to earn four letters in the sport, and was named on the "All-Western" at the end position.

Olympians such as Marion Jones and Maurice Greene competed in the Gold Zone portion of the meet, which attracts thousands of spectators to the relays every year.

[5] In the fall of 1926, Schlademan departed for Washington State College in Pullman, and was also the head coach in basketball for the first two years.

Washington State sprinter Lee Orr, a 1936 Olympian for Canada, won a national collegiate title in the 440-yard dash in 1940, Schlademan's final season in Pullman.

Schlademan's son, Karl, surmised his father accepted the job for a number of reasons including a close relationship with Athletic Director Ralph Young, the attractiveness of the newly completed Jenison Fieldhouse, a deep respect for the track programs of the Midwest, and an increase of salary from $4,000 to $7,500.

From then until his retirement in 1959, Schlademan led the Spartans to seven Big Ten championships and 11 national championships—six NCAA and five IC4A (1948–49, 1952, and 1955–56)--in cross country.