University of Tennessee Athletics
Duane Ross Agrees To Contract Extension Through 2028
June 28, 2023 | Track & Field
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — After a promising debut season leading the Vols and Lady Vols on the track, Tennessee head coach and director of track & field Duane Ross has agreed to a contract extension through the 2027-28 athletic season.
"In just one season, Duane has started building the foundation to restore our track & field program as one of the nation's truly elite programs," said White. "It was an encouraging sign of progress to see both programs finish in the top five at both SEC championship events for the first time since 2008, and watching our women's program place in the top-10 nationally at indoors and outdoors for the first time since 2009 was eye-opening."
In Tennessee's first year under Ross' leadership, the Vols and Lady Vols totaled 15 school records, 32 All-America honors and 22 SEC medals over the course of the indoor and outdoor seasons. The Big Orange men and women secured top five finishes at both SEC competitions for the first time since 2008, with the Vols placing fifth and third and the Lady Vols placing third and fifth in the team standings at the indoor and outdoor conference meets, respectively.
Ross guided the Lady Vol track & field squads to a pair of top-10 finishes at both national meets for the first time since 2009, placing seventh at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March and tying for 10th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships earlier this month.
In the USTFCCCA's Division I Program of the Year standings released earlier this month, the men of Tennessee were tabbed No. 9 when combining postseason results from cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. The ranking marked the highest position for UT on the list since the award's inception in 2008-09.
"Our first year here in Knoxville has been special, and we're just getting started," Ross said. "The support from Danny White, Marcus Hilliard and the Tennessee administration has been nothing short of incredible. With a strong foundation in place, we are committed to continue building this program into a national championship contender."
Regarded for his ability to develop sprinters and hurdlers, Ross coached Jacious Sears to USTFCCCA South Region Track Athlete of the Year honors for the 2023 outdoor season. The Lady Vol speedster posted a team-high 11 points at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and won the SEC Commissioner's Trophy as the highest individual point scorer at the SEC Outdoor Championships. Sears tallied 20.5 points for Tennessee at the conference meet, which included winning the 100-meter dash in a school-record 10.96 seconds and earning silver in the 200-meter with a lifetime-best clocking of 22.45.
The Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, native also had a spectacular indoor season, claiming the SEC 60-meter title with a school record time of 7.11 and becoming the second fastest performer in collegiate history with a sprint of 7.04 seconds in prelims at the NCAA Championships. She finished third in the national 60-meter final with a time of 7.10, and her personal-best time of 7.04 stands as the fifth-fastest in the world in 2023.
Ross also guided Lady Vol standout Charisma Taylor to seven All-America certificates over the course of the 2023 indoor and outdoor seasons. The Nassau, Bahamas, native placed top five in the 60-meter hurdles, long jump and triple jump at indoor nationals, including a mark of 14.88 meters (48-10) in the triple jump that placed second and ranked as the No. 2 performance in collegiate history. Taylor earned four All-America honors at the outdoor national championships, placing top-16 in the 100-meter hurdles, long jump, triple jump and 4x100-meter relay and tallying eight points for the Big Oragne.
On the men's side, Dylan Jacobs stood out during the indoor season and was tabbed the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Year, the first Vol to earn that honor since Christian Coleman in 2017. The distance specialist from Orland Park, Illinois, established SEC records and all-time top five marks in the 3,000-meter (7:36.89) and 5,000-meter (13:11.01) during the regular season, won SEC titles in the 3k and DMR and capped his historic campaign with a 5k national title in Albuquerque.
Vol graduate students Devon Brooks and Jacobs locked up outdoor conference titles in the men's 110-meter hurdles and 5,000-meter, respectively, leading the squad to a third-place finish in the team standings with 87 points at the SEC Outdoor Championships.
At the outdoor national meet, senior Emmanuel Bynum stood out with a third-place finish in the 400-meter dash with his lifetime-best 44.49 second clocking. Adding scoring performances in the 400-meter hurdles from Rasheeme Griffith (49.17, 5th) and the 110-meter hurdles from Rasheem Brown (13.53, 8th), Tennessee finished 22nd nationally with 11 points.
The 2023-24 season will mark Ross' second year on Rocky Top after 10 years leading the charge at North Carolina A&T. The Dallas, North Carolina, native has guided collegiate athletes to 175 All-America honors, 19 individual/relay NCAA championships, eight top-10 NCAA team finishes and 204 individual/relay conference titles over the course of his coaching career.
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