2026 College Track & Field Open Coaching Positions Discussion

It looks like they have indoor and outdoor track, but they are listed under Cross Country and are distance only. So it's still a year around gig, just distance only.

I agree whole heartedly with this take. I would argue many coaches that have a track record for development over isolated results (bringing in a few Kenyans or foreign, older athletes with poor development of American kids) is better for the longevity of a program.

True, and how do you want someone to take your program seriously when you want to hire a kid fresh out of college with no experience. I could have hired my former athletes many times but without some coaching experience I am not going to do that. Unfortunately it doesn’t work for my program to have grad assistants so I suggest places they can go.

I had a friend that was interviewed for as assistant position at Iowa state assisting the women’s coach, and he has 4 years coaching experience and was even a Head coach for a year going into this interview. The coach wanted someone with international recruiting experience as as well as developing Americans. He has this exact experience and I’ve seen his work he is very good. Well, they hired a girl with NO coaching experience who just graduated college. This is unprofessional and borderline “creepy” in my opinion.

That's what Iowa State needed- a true professional!

Downvotes without an opposing argument is very weird. I cannot agree more but I don’t think this is a widely popular as you may state it. But I don’t have personal knowledge from experience so I could be wrong here. I just know that it seems like not many jobs are coming available not sure what the state of college track and field will be in a few years

Anyone have any insights or intel on the SLCC job?

I once again agree. These male directors and head coaches are incredibly odd with their hiring practices. Colorado, EKU, Illinois, VT, Texas A&M and Cal are all programs that have done this.

That's how coaching works. Most of the time, the assistant is there to do just that - assist. You hire accomplished coaches and they start speaking their opinions instead of yours... Not a good situation.

Any openings coming down the pipeline in D1?

Does this happen, sure if you hire a young man who Is immature. A grown man with coaching experience knows better than to do that. Does it happen sometimes maybe. At least with a man with experience in place you won’t have to worry about your job because of something you said or they said you said.

I’ve been an assistant and a HC and I have no problem at all with following my directors lead with his or her vision for the program, my goal is to exceed the expectations of my role and go above and beyond to help my director with every aspect of the programs success. I’m not sure about others but if you want to succeed in this or another profession you should have this mindset. If you have questions or want to learn more about the why and how then you sit down with the coach and listen to them teach you. Be open minded and you’ll go far.

if an accomplished coach starts doing what you’re saying I would question if they’re actually accomplished or how they did become “accomplished” maybe it was off of another coaches work.

Current coach says it’s a formality and he’s returning.

Do you think maybe just maybe they wanted to hire someone that was a female to work with the female athletes?

Ah, that's a shame. Seemed like a good gig to try to land. Weird that the community college would post it as a formality if they want to just rehire the same coach.

Sure, so all programs should have a male coach coaching the men and women’s coaching the females correct? And if so, what about the sprinters and jumpers and throwers, can you make it make sense for us?

Yeah umm.. that’s not a sustainable decision for track & field and is also gender biased. Try saying that the other way around and see how that goes…

Most of the track and field programs that are cut, if not all, are men’s programs. So how can that be possible? The truth is there will never be enough women Interested in coaching for it to become a scenario like this. Plus it’ll cost programs too much money or salaries will get even lower. Look at the SEC most of the distance coaches are men for both genders. It’s not equal, and like I said due to the lack of women wanting to coach it will never be. Don’t focus on the few programs that do not hire based on experience and hire a woman in most of those cases that’s just how that program has to operate due to its athletic dept. now downvote that!

You don't think an all-female coaching staff wouldn't target to hire a male if they felt it would help with recruiting or working with athletes? How many male recruits do you think would totally ignore programs that only had a females staff?

Yes, any such program would "diversify" their staff with a male coach if they felt it would help them, and no one would care.

Providence Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Ray Treacy will retire this summer after more than four decades leading the Friars. Hall of Fame career!