Notable track and field programs found new leaders during the 2022 offseason. Six new head coaches and/or directors of track and field stand out among the rest, as they could have the biggest potential impact on the 2023 indoor and outdoor seasons.
How 6 coaching changes could shake up the 2023 track and field season
Tennessee — New head coach: Duane Ross
Duane Ross is the new head coach at Tennessee after winning 17 conference championships and coaching nine individual NCAA champions at North Carolina A&T. Ross is a 1995 NCAA champion and a 2004 Olympian, but has yet to win a DI NCAA title as a head coach, despite close finishes.
Ross takes over a Tennessee program that has struggled to recapture its glory of the early 2000s. The Volunteer men finished third and the women finished ninth at the 2022 SEC outdoor championships. Both the men and women finished sixth at the SEC indoor championships. The men’s team hasn’t won an SEC title since 2007, and the women’s team hasn’t won an SEC title since 2009. Only two male athletes (Christian Coleman and Wayne Pinnock) have won an individual NCAA title for Tennessee since 2010.
Ross will try to carry over his recent success to Tennessee. If he can, the best conference in collegiate track and field will have a new…
