Coach Ross, new Director of Track and Field and new Director of Cross Country, Coach Carlson are now on board. Both men have impressive resumes. Their first press conference can be found here:
Duane Ross and Sean Carlson Formally Introduced as Directors of Tennessee Track & Field/Cross Country - University of Tennessee Athletics
Coach Ross became an NCAA Champion, while running for Clemson in 1995.
He won that award on The Tom Black Track.
Coach Ross's son is an Olympic medalist and may join his dad at Tennessee. Listen to the press conference. Impressive!
Both men say they took the Tennessee postion because AD White wants to reinvent the sport. Coach Carlson will not only be in charge of cross country... he will also be responsible for middle distances on the track and field side. Both men said no one else in the sport is doing this but it makes so much sense. This was AD White's idea. Coach Ross and Coach Carlson both said another Tennessee selling point was AD White's emphatic promise to provide the resources needed to win and the assurance that he would always have their back.
We will win a National Championship in Track and Field or Cross Country in the next two years. Counting Outdoor and Indoor seasons, there are six National Championships to be won each year across the sport. According to Coach Ross he expects to win at least one immediately.
