Jason Dunn was named the UVA men’s head cross country and assistant track and field coach by director of track and field Bryan Fetzer on Thursday (July 19). Dunn holds 20 years of coaching experience including serving as the UVA head cross country coach from 2004-08. He returned to Virginia as the track and field director of operations in 2016 after successful coaching stops at Stanford, Kentucky and Oklahoma.
“I feel like we hired the best fit possible for the position,” Fetzer said. “Jason has played a vital role the last two years in our staff’s success and knows how the program operates, which will allow for a smooth transition. His past experience and success speaks for itself. He has been successful everywhere he has coached including his last time in the orange and blue.”
Dunn coached at Virginia for eight years, serving as an assistant coach for the Cavaliers from 2000-04 before being promoted to head cross country coach following the 2004 track and field season. With Dunn’s leadership, the men’s cross country team captured the 2005 and 2007 ACC titles. The program had two runners honored as the ACC Freshman of the Year and produced 28 All-ACC cross country selections. Dunn was named the 2005 and 2007 ACC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year for his success. Both the men’s and women’s team advanced to the NCAA championships four times with 2005 marking the first time in school history that both programs qualified to the national meet in the same season. Virginia had five All-American cross country honorees and 40 All-Region selections.
On the track, Dunn’s athletes recorded seven All-America honors, 12 ACC individual champions and 55 All-ACC performances.
“I would like to thank Coach Fetzer, not only for the great opportunity to join the coaching staff at this time, but also for bringing me on board as the director of operations at UVA in September of 2016,” Dunn said. “Two years ago, when my wife and I moved here looking to be closer to family, start a business and generally to enjoy living in the beautiful and inspiring community of Charlottesville, I was not sure if I would coach at the collegiate level again. As time passed, and by staying connected to the sport, it became clear that I still very much had a passion for the concept of working with student-athletes and helping them to pursue their goals.
“I could not imagine a more ideal situation to return to coaching and I can’t wait to get started. I very much look forward to helping our track and field and cross country program reach new heights as we compete for championships and contribute to the overall goals of our athletic department at the University of Virginia.”
Before his return to UVA as the track and field director of operations, Dunn served as the associate head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach at Oklahoma from 2013-16. During his tenure with the Sooners, Dunn led the men’s cross country program to a 15th-place finish at the 2015 NCAA Championships and coached the women’s team to its highest Big 12 and NCAA Midwest Regional finish in program history. Dunn coached five Big 12 champions and 95 All-Big 12 honorees during his three years with the program.
Prior to Oklahoma, Dunn served a one-year stint (2012-13) as the men’s cross country coach and assistant track coach at Kentucky. He coached an SEC champion in the mile, an NCAA individual qualifier in cross country and two NCAA finalists on the track.
While at Stanford (2008-12), the men’s cross country team held the No. 1 national ranking for most of the 2009 and 2010 seasons. The men’s team captured the Pac-12 team championship both of those years, while the women won the conference title in 2010. He led 16 student-athletes to 59 All-America honors. Dunn coached seven Pac-12 individual champions in addition to seeing six Cardinal student-athletes record a sub four-minute mile. The cross country program posted three top-5 and two other top-10 finishes during his time with the Cardinal. Dunn’s efforts earned him two Pac-12 Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year honors and seven USTFCCCA Assistant Coach of the Year accolades (two cross country, three indoor track and two outdoor track).
Prior to coaching at UVA, Dunn served as an assistant track and field and cross country coach at Arizona State from 1997-2000 and an assistant cross country coach at William & Mary for the fall of 1996.
Dunn has a master’s of education from Arizona State in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on physical education and a bachelor’s of arts degree from William & Mary in government and a minor in history.
Dunn and his wife Ann, a former All-American track athlete at Wisconsin, reside in Earlysville, VA.
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