HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS (June 27, 2009) Sam Houston State Director of Athletics Bobby Williams has announced Dave Self as the new head coach of the Bearkat track and field program. Self has served as the assistant coach for the past five years.
“I am excited about it,” Self said. “I have been working with the program for five years and I am looking forward to the challenges that are going to come. The goal is to get us back to the SLC championship.”
In his five years, the Bearkats have known nothing but success. The SHSU track and field program dominated the outdoor competition for two straight years, with both the men and women capturing Southland Conference crowns in 2005 and 2006. The two seasons after that, Self has coached the women to a pair of Southland Conference Indoor Championships as well as an Outdoor title in 2008.
“We are excited about him being our coach,” Williams said. “We did go though a national search and in the end felt our head coach was on our current staff which is a great feeling to know.”
Self has already started the evaluation process on where the program is headed, and said he is not planning many changes as he slides into the position held by Curtis Collier who now works in administration with the department.
“Knowing I am the final decision on things will be different,” Self said. “We are not going to make a lot of changes. There are a few things I want to do, but we have been very successful over the last few years, so I don’t want to start making mass changes. I am looking forward to finalizing my staff and get going with the process.”
Self, who is in charge of sprinters and hurdlers and also serves as the recruiting coordinator, has watched as his runners have produced 24 school records on 58 different occasions. Also, his athletes have racked up a total of 207 all-conference honors along with 31 individual or relay Southland Conference first-place finishes.
In 2008 he was named the Southland Conference Indoor Coach of the Year, becoming the first assistant coach in the conference to earn such an honor.
Self previously served as head track and field coach at Garden City Community College from 1996-2002. There he coached 123 athletes who earned National Junior College Athletic Association All America honors. He also produced 21 national individual champions and one of his athletes was a member of the 2004 United States Olympic Track and Field team.
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