Texas Tech University Athletics
Tech Track & Field Adds Boone and Robinson to Staff
August 18, 2015 | Track and Field
Aug. 18, 2015
LUBBOCK, Texas -- Texas Tech head coach Wes Kittley announced Tuesday the addition of Dana Boone and Calvin Robinson to the track & field staff.
Boone will serve as the associate head women's coach, while Robinson joins the staff as an assistant coach. Additionally, James Thomas has been promoted to associate head men's coach.
Boone comes to Lubbock after four seasons as the head coach at Texas State. During her time there, she led the Bobcats to four conference championships, while also racking up conference Coach of the Year honors behind each title.
In each of her four years at Texas State, Boone's teams qualified 20 or more athletes for the NCAA West Preliminary. Last season, 29 athletes in 24 events represented the Bobcats at the regional. Boone also took three athletes to the NCAA Indoor Championships and two athletes in three events, as well as a 4x400-meter relay team to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
"I could not have found a better coach to guide our women's sprints & hurdles program," Kittley said. "Dana has coached at the highest level, and also caries valuable head coaching experience. I can't wait to see Dana elevate our women to greater heights. There are few coaches out there who can match what she has done at the collegiate level." Boone brings a vast amount of high-level coaching experience to Texas Tech, which featured positions at Oklahoma, LSU, Texas, Texas State, Tulane, Middle Tennessee and South Carolina. During her coaching career, she has had 59 All-America honorees.
She spent six years at Oklahoma where she coached sprints, hurdles and relays and served as an assistant coach for two seasons before her promotion to associate head women's coach in 2007.
Boone was named the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year after training five NCAA All-America First Team and six NCAA All-America Second Team student-athletes between the indoor and outdoor seasons, including NCAA 100-meter dash champion Candyce McGrone.
Boone's athletes helped the Sooners enjoy the program's best finishes at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, place sixth and fourth, respectively. She also served as the USATF World Junior Championship women's head coach in 2014 and the USATF Junior Pan American assistant coach (jumps) in 2011.
Robinson joins the Texas Tech family after three years at Louisiana Tech, where he established himself as one of the premier sprints coaches in the country. In three seasons with the Bulldogs, he coached his athletes to 11 All-America honors.
In 2014, Robinson had four male athletes run 6.78 or better in the indoor 60-meter dash with the best running 6.67; making it the only group in the country with four athletes ranked in the top 64 in the nation in the event.
The LA Tech men's 4x100 relay qualified for the 2013 and 2014 NCAA Championships, finishing 12th overall in both seasons. The 2014 squad posted a seasonal-best 39.53, as well as finishing fifth at the prestigious Texas Relays.
Robinson also coached sprinter Trey Hadnot to a third-place finish in the 200 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2013 behind a school record time of 20.48.
"Calvin brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our program," Kittley said. "He has coached both Olympic medalist and NCAA champions. He is an incredible teacher and technician, and will be a great asset to our men's sprints and hurdles." Robinson joined LA Tech after spending four years as an associate head coach at the University of Miami (Fla.) He's coached two-time Olympic qualifier, 2009 Berlin World Championship Finalist and 2012 London Olympic Games finalist Mikael Hanany. Hanany was also the 2008 NCAA National Champion and a seven-time All-America honoree.
In 2008, Robinson was named USTFCCCA Mountain Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year at UTEP, while coaching a national champion in the men's high jump. During his career, he's coached 29 All-Americans and 61 individual conference champions.
Thomas will enter his fourth year at Texas Tech, where he oversees the combined events, vertical and horizontal jumps. Last season, his athletes made history as JaCorian Duffield and Bradley Adkins became the first teammates to go 1-2 at both the indoor and outdoor championships in the history of the NCAA in the men's high jump.
"As part of our restructuring in our track and field program, James Thomas has been elevated to associate head coach for men," Kittley said. "James has proven to be one of the top field event coaches in the NCAA. There has not been anyone more deserving of this title than James. His loyalty for the Red Raiders and me is unprecedented."
Players Mentioned
