PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- A track & field expert at all levels of the sport, Wayne Stacy has accepted the position of Head Men's and Women's Track & Field Coach at the University of Pikeville, Athletic Director Kelly Wells announced on Friday.

Stacy has coached track and cross country at both the collegiate and high-school levels for the past 20 years. Since 2013, he has coached the sprinters, throwers and coordinated the strength training efforts at his alma mater, Wilmington (Ohio) College. In that time, he has coached NCAA Div. III national qualifiers in shot put, 400 meters, 400 hurdles and the weight throw.

"Wayne brings a level of expertise in track & field that our program needs as we build it into a full team that can begin to challenge for Mid-South Conference Championships," said Wells. "He is a proven recruiter and his track record of success in the sport is obvious. I look forward to working with him to help provide the best experience as possible for our student-athletes."

In his career overall, Stacy has coached All-Americans, national champions, state champions, Olympic trials qualifiers and an athlete that finished fourth at the IAAF World Championship in London (2017).

A passionate recruiter and teacher, Stacy considers himself a lifelong learner as he also taught history, social science, and HPE classes at Wilmington.

Prior to returning to his alma mater, Stacy was the Athletic Director and coached football and track & field at Bethel-Tate High School from 2010-12 and before that was the head track and cross country coach at William Penn (Iowa) for three years from 2008-2010.

Early in his career, Stacy also held stints as the head track & field coach at Simpson College and Defiance College. At Defiance, he was a three time Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and comes to UPIKE with 28 NCAA qualifiers and 18 NAIA qualifiers on his resume.

As a collegiate athlete himself, Stacy was an NAIA All-American wide receiver in football and an NAIA national qualifier in decathlon, discus and the 60-yard dash - of which he is still the current record holder at Wilmington in those events.

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