Sullivan Announced as Director of Track and Field, Cross Country
7/28/2021 1:00:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field, Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics Warde Manuel announced Wednesday (July 28) that current men's cross country head coach and assistant track and field coach Kevin Sullivan has been promoted to serve as the director of the combined track and field and cross country programs.
"I'm extremely excited and humbled that Warde Manuel is giving me this opportunity to lead the track and field and cross country program here at my alma mater," said Sullivan, a four-time NCAA champion for the Wolverines and a three-time Olympian who has coached for Michigan since 2014. "When I came back to Ann Arbor as the head cross country and assistant track coach, one of my goals as a coach was to hopefully be in this position. I'm really appreciative that Warde has confidence in me to lead the program forward."
Sullivan, who has led his cross country team to a pair of Big Ten titles and a pair of top-10 NCAA Championships finishes, will now oversee a combined program that encompasses six teams in men's and women's cross country, men's and women's indoor track and field, and men's and women's outdoor track and field. The Wolverines are coming off a 2021 campaign that saw the women finish runner-up in the Big Ten indoors and the men take runner-up honors outdoors.
"Our goal is to be a championship program in three different seasons. We want to be successful in cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field," said Sullivan. "We want to continue to build on that success and continue to bring in great student-athletes who fit the mission of the University of Michigan and will be successful in the classroom, successful on the athletic field, community-minded, and will be good stewards of our program."
This upcoming 2021-22 academic year will mark the first time in school history the track and field and cross country programs have officially been under the sole leadership of one person, following a structural model that has become standard at a majority of institutions around the country.
"I am pleased that Kevin has agreed to lead our joint track and field and cross country programs following his many contributions as our head cross country and assistant track and field coach," said Manuel. "Kevin has earned numerous accolades in his time at U-M, including Big Ten championships, top-10 national finishes, individual national championships and over 20 All-Americans. Our future is bright, and I look forward to his leadership of our combined programs."
He takes the reins of the track and field program -- which itself had become a combined-gender program in 2018 -- from former head coaches James Henry and Jerry Clayton.
Henry will remain with the staff as an assistant coach. Assistant track coaches Mike McGuire, Steven Rajewsky and Jenni Ashcroft also will remain as part of Sullivan's staff. McGuire will continue to oversee women's cross country.
Clayton resigned his position effective July 20 and joined the staff at LSU as an assistant coach overseeing the throws events. During his time at Michigan, Clayton led the Wolverines to six top-30 finishes at the NCAA Championships, both indoors and out, and a pair of runner-up finishes at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in 2016 and this past 2021 season.
Sullivan and Michigan Athletics soon will open a national search to fill the vacant assistant throws coach position.
During his time at Michigan, Sullivan has coached his distance runners to both team and individual success. The two-time Big Ten Cross Country Coach of the Year led his Wolverines to conference titles in 2015 and 2017, and top-11 NCAA Championships finishes in 2019 (seventh), 2017 (10th) and 2015 (11th).
Individually, his runners have combined for a pair of national titles in Mason Ferlic (2016, 3,000-meter steeplechase) and Ben Flanagan (2018, 10,000 meters) among 21 All-America citations (17 individual, four relay) and nine Big Ten champions since 2014. In his overall coaching career, which includes volunteer assistant tenures with Michigan, Illinois and Florida State, Sullivan has coached or assisted in coaching 48 All-Americans.
His own individual career at Michigan was the stuff of legends, racking up four national titles, 14 All-America honors and 16 Big Ten titles during his time in Ann Arbor from 1993 through 1998. Under the tutelage of then-head coach Jack Harvey and distance coach Ron Warhurst, he was four-time top-10 finisher at the NCAA Cross Country championships, a two-time NCAA champion in the mile and a national champ once each in the 1,500 meters and distance medley relay.
He also excelled in the classroom as a three-time Academic All-American -- including as the Spring At-Large Academic All-American of the Year in 1998 -- and a seven-time Academic All-Big Ten selection en route to a bachelor's degree in civil engineering.
His achievement at Michigan culminated in the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1998 and inclusion in the Michigan Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2006.
After his collegiate career, Sullivan was a three-time Olympian for Canada, competing in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Games. He placed fifth in the 1,500-meter run at the 2000 Olympics and is Canada's record holder in the 1,500 meters (3:31.71) and the mile (3:50.26). Sullivan was one of the world's top competitors in the 1,500-meter run for nearly a decade, winning a silver medal at the 1994 Commonwealth Games and 2001 Goodwill Games, and earned the bronze medal in the 2000 IAAF Grand Prix Final. Overall, he participated in 22 World Championships in cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field.
