MOBILE, Ala. ? University of South Alabama Director of Athletics Joe Gottfried announced Saturday that head men’s track and field coach Lee Evans has resigned in order to pursue other opportunities. Evans is planning on taking a job with the United Nations in New Guinea to work with refugee camps, while doing some other humanitarian work for the UN.
“We appreciate Lee's contribution and leadership to our track program over the past eight years,” Gottfried said. “Being a former world-class athlete, he was able to attract outstanding student-athletes from around the world, including Vincent Rono, who won the National Championship in the 1500 meters in 2006. It was a big plus for our program to have Lee Evans, a two-time gold medal winner, on our staff and leading our program.”
During his eight seasons at South Alabama, Evans had 36 student-athletes earn Indoor All-Sun Belt honors and 122 athletes earn outdoor all-conference honors, while also coaching a total of 78 individual Sun Belt Conference champions. Evans also had a total of 43 athletes qualify for an NCAA Regional, including 11 which advanced to the NCAA Championships. Rono became the first Jaguar since the late David Kimani to capture an NCAA Individual National Championship in 2006, when he placed first at the championship meet in the 1500m.
Under his leadership, the South Alabama men’s team won two Sun Belt Conference Indoor titles, taking home top honors in 2005 and 2007, while also finishing as the league’s runner up in 2006. Evans led the men’s cross country team at USA to the conference championship in 2006, the program’s first title in that event since 1999 and he was named the SBC’s Coach of the Year that same season.
“I have enjoyed my time at South Alabama and the people that I have worked with,” Evans said. “I enjoy working with young athletes and that is why I came here. We were able to deliver three conference championships while I was here and finished second or third a few other times. Now, I am looking forward to helping out these refugee camps in West Africa. This area is similar to the area that the movie Blood Diamond was based on and they have a lot of issues that need to be attended to, so I am looking forward to doing my part to help out.”
Over 60 indoor/outdoor records were either set or broken at USA during Evans’ time at the helm.
Evans came to South Alabama from the University of Washington, where he spent two seasons as an assistant coach in charge of sprints and relays. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Evans set a world record in the 400-meters at the 1968 Games that stood for over 20 years. He was also a member of the 4x400-meter relay team that also set a world record on its way to winning the gold medal in Mexico City.
During his coaching career, Evans has trained athletes in 20 countries and was the Olympic coach for four countries (Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Qatar). He has coached four Olympic medalists (one silver and three bronze) and in 2004 he was selected as one of the coaches to lead the United States team at the World Indoor Track & Field Championships.
In 1983, Evans was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame and in 1989 he became a member of the Olympic Hall of Fame. During 1994, Evans received the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award for his Humanitarian work in Africa and Asia. At the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Evans was named a 100 Golden Olympian.
Career Highlights
1968 Olympic Gold Medal Winner, 400M and 4x400M Relay
World Record Holder, 400M, 20 years
World Record Holder, 4x400M Relay, 24 Years
World Record Holder, 600M, 16 Years
Member of USA Olympic, USA Track and Field and Bay Area Halls of Fame
Member of both the city of San Jose, Calif., and the San Jose State University Halls of Fame
Winner of NCAA Silver Anniversary Award
1978 Coach of the Year, Nigeria
2004 Coach of the United States at the World Indoor Track & Field Championships
Two Sun Belt Conference Men’s Indoor Championships (2005 and 2007).
36 All-Sun Belt Performers (Indoor)
122 All-Sun Belt Performers (Outdoor)
78 Sun Belt Conference Champions (Individual)
