Blaine Wiley Named Assistant Track & Field Coach
5/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field, Cross Country
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - University of Alabama head track & field coach Dan Waters announced today the hiring of Blaine Wiley as an assistant coach for the Crimson Tide program. Wiley, a 10-time junior college National Assistant Coach of the Year is currently the Associate Head Track & Field Coach at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas. Wiley, who will coach the long sprints (men's & women's 400 meters, 800, 400-meter hurdles and relays) with the Crimson Tide, will join the Alabama program this summer after the 2015 outdoor season concludes.
"I am very pleased that Blaine Wiley will be joining our staff for the 2015-16 season," Waters said. "Blaine is one of the finest coaches in America. It's hard for me to imagine bringing anyone to our program who could match Blaine's depth of experience and knowledge as a coach, recruiter, mentor and advisor. He will be a vital part of our program, helping us continue to develop into a contender in the SEC and nationally."
"I am honored and excited to join the track & field staff at the University of Alabama," Wiley said. "It's very humbling and meaningful to me to become a small part of the traditions, legacy and history of success that make Alabama such a special place in the world of collegiate athletics. My family and I want to thank Coach Waters for this opportunity. I look forward to helping Dan's vision for the program become a reality."
One of two veteran coaches with proven credentials of producing elite-level athletes who will be joining the Alabama staff for the 2015-16 academic year (along with Dion Miller of Texas Tech University) Wiley is a proven coach with more than 14 seasons of major college coaching experience.
Wiley and Miller will replace current Crimson Tide assistant coaches Matt Kane and Dick Booth, both of whom informed Waters of their intentions to leave the program after the conclusion of the 2015 season. Kane will transition to coaching professional/post-collegiate athletes while Booth has decided to retire from college coaching but will continue assisting the Alabama program in several capacities, including serving as an organizer for the upcoming 2016 SEC Outdoor Championships (which Alabama will host next May) and the annual NCAA South Region cross country championships, along with other duties revolving around Crimson Tide home competitions.
Wiley is currently in his 10th season at South Plains College, one of the nation's best junior college track & field programs. He has a proven record of success on the track and in the classroom, having coached on a staff that has led South Plains to 28 NJCAA national team championships while sending more than 70 athletes on to full scholarships at elite NCAA Division I programs. Wiley also has significant international and Olympic experience, having mentored six Olympians and eight IAAF World Championships participants, including two medalists.
He has been part of an impressive era of success at South Plains. Since Wiley's arrival on the staff in the Fall of 2006, the Texans have won 28 NJCAA team national championships, set seven NJCAA national records, produced 107 NJCAA individual and relay national champions and produced seven NJCAA men's and women's National Athletes of the Year (indoor and outdoor). South Plains sent six athletes to compete for their native countries at the 2012 London Olympics, produced one Olympic finalist (Renny Quow of Trinidad and Tobago in the men's 400 meters at the 2008 Beijing Olympics) and eight IAAF World Championships qualifiers - LaToy Williams (Bahamas, 2009-11-13, 400, 4x400), Renny Quow (Trinidad and Tobago, 2009-11-13, 400, 4x400), Rondell Bartholomew (Grenada, 2011, 400), Jura Levy (Jamaica, 2011, 100, 4x100), Janelle Redhead (Grenada, 2011, 200), Shavez Hart (Bahamas, 2013, 100, 4x100), Trevorvano Mackey (Bahamas, 2013, 100, 200, 4x100) and Lestrod Roland (Saint Kitts and Nevis, 2013, 200, 4x100).
During Wiley's time in Levelland, South Plains has produced two IAAF World Championships medalists - Renny Quow (Trinidad and Tobago, Bronze, 400, 2009) and Jura Levy (Jamaica, Silver, 4x100-meter relay, 2011) and two Texans athletes ranked in the top four in the world in the 400 meters in 2009 - Renny Quow (No. 2) and LaToy Williams (No. 4). South Plains' 2010 men's outdoor 4x400 relay ranked No. 7 among all colleges and universities in the US, the 2011 men's indoor 4x400 relay ranked No. 3 in the world, the 2012 men's indoor 4x400 (fourth) and South Plains' outdoor 4x400 (12th) ranked among the best in the world. The Texans' 2013 men's 4x100 ranked No. 9 among all colleges/universities in the U.S., the 2014 men's indoor 4x400 ranked No. 15 in the world and the 2014 men's sprint medley relay ranked No. 1 among all U.S. colleges/universities.
As an assistant coach at Texas State from 2002-06, Wiley coached 16 Southland Conference individual and relay champions for the Bobcats, including 112 All-Southland Conference athletes, 28 NCAA Midwest Regional qualifiers, two NCAA national qualifiers, one USATF national semifinalist and two USATF Junior Nationals qualifiers. Wiley coached Texas State athletes to 63 school all-time top 10 performances, eight Texas State school records and two Southland Conference records. Texas State produced seven Southland Conference championship teams over a span of four seasons, including a sweep of the 2004 men's and women's indoor and outdoor titles. Wiley helped lead the Bobcats to a Southland Conference outdoor record points total for the women's team in 2004 (195), coached the Southland Conference Athlete of the Year and Outstanding Track Performer in 2003 and 2004 (indoor and outdoor) and the Southland Conference High Point Athlete in 2003, 2004 and 2006.
Before joining the staff at Texas State, Wiley was a sprinter on the Bobcats' track team from 1997-2000, accomplishing career bests of 10.29 (wind-aided) in the outdoor 100 meters and 6.20 in the indoor 55-meter dash (a time that ranked in the world's top 20 in 2000). As a student-athlete, Wiley was a member of the 1998 and 2000 outdoor conference championship teams. A two-time team captain for the Bobcats, Wiley was also a member of the school-record sprint medley relay team.
Wiley, a native of Round Rock, Texas, graduated from Texas State in May 2000 with a degree in Business Administration and completed a Master's degree in Secondary Education in May 2008. Wiley and his wife, Julie, have two sons, Hayden Blaine Alan, and Landon James. Julie was a track & field letter winner at Texas State from 1996-2000.
