Tech Track Hires Victor Houston as Assistant Coach
August 02, 2011 | Track and Field
Aug. 2, 2011
Victor Houston
Texas Tech head track & field coach Wes Kittley has announced the hiring of former two-time Olympian Victor Houston to coach long jump, triple jump and women's combined events.
"I am real excited to have an opportunity to bring someone of Victor's caliber to our staff," Kittley said. "His work ethic and experience will add to what is already a great staff. Victor's 10 years in coaching and his experience competing at two Olympic Games will be invaluable to Texas Tech. We are excited to bring him into our family."
Houston, a Barbados native, comes to Texas Tech from Alabama where he coached jumps, throws and multi-events. He had student-athletes qualify six times for the NCAA Championships and walk-on Michael Hughes broke the Alabama school record in the heptathlon. During his time at Alabama, eight top 10 marks in Alabama history were set.
Before joining the Alabama staff, Houston enjoyed four successful years as the an assistant women's track coach at the University of Iowa where he coached 40 Hawkeye field event and sprint competitors that scored at the Big Ten Conference Championships, 14 All-Big Ten top three finishers, 4 Big Ten Champions, 7 All-Americans, sent 13 out of 19 qualifiers to the NCAA Championships, and the athletes set 19 school records. Iowa also sent 17 field event and sprint student-athletes to the NCAA Midwest Regional.
Houston began his coaching career at UTEP where his athletes garnered five WAC individual championships and five All-Americans honors.
Houston was a two-time Olympian for Barbados at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. He won the 1996 NCAA Championship in the decathlon scoring 7,762 points and earned four All-American honors while he competed for Auburn University.
Houston is married to Andree' Pickens Houston, who was a two-time NCAA Champion and 14-time NCAA Champion in gymnastics at Alabama. She competed in the US Olympic Trials in the pole vault in 2008. The couple has a 14-month old son Victor Emmanuel Nathaniel Houston.