Clark named national women's coach of the year in indoor track

For the second time in five seasons, Tennessee coach J.J. Clark has been selected as the NCAA Division I National Women’s Coach of the Year by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Officially, Clark has been selected as the Beverly Kearney Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year, which is named in honor of the current University of Texas coach and former Lady Vols assistant. Oregon’s Dan Steele claimed the men’s honor, while Florida’s Brian O’Neal and Texas A&M’s Vince Anderson were chosen as the men’s and women’s assistant coaches of the year, respectively.

Anderson was a long-time assistant coach for both the Tennessee women’s and men’s programs, directing the sprints/hurdles/jumps area.

In his seventh season at UT, Clark guided the Lady Vols to a second NCAA Indoor Championship and third overall (1981 AIAW Outdoor) title. He also won this award for directing Tennessee to the 2005 NCAA and SEC Indoor Championships.

“It feels good to be nominated and voted the national coach of the year,” Clark said. “There are some really excellent coaches and programs throughout America, and for those coaches to feel you are the best this year is very rewarding. Again, it shows the consistency of our program, where we’ve had this award before and are receiving it again four years later.

“It’s a good sign for our program. Hopefully, our team can continue this excellence throughout the years to come and be very, very dominant in the sport of track & field. At the least, we hope to be super competitive year-in and year-out.”