Track & Field
- Title:
- Director of Track and Field and Cross Country
- Email:
- basullivan@tennessee.edu
- Phone:
- (865) 974-4000
The 2021-22 school year marks Beth Alford-Sullivan’s eighth season as the director of track & field and cross country at the University of Tennessee. Overall, Tennessee has claimed seven NCAA individual championships, 30 SEC individual championships, 87 SEC medals and 152 All-America honors during Sullivan’s first seven seasons on Rocky Top.
When Sullivan was tabbed to lead the men’s and women’s programs in 2014, she became the first woman to lead a men’s program in any sport in SEC history. Regarded as the ‘original trailblazer,’ she also became the first-ever female head coach of a men’s Power 5 track & field program in 2006, when she was named program director at Penn State.
THE ALFORD-SULLIVAN FILE
Coaching Experience
- 1991-93: Southeast Missouri State, Assistant
- 1993-95: Mankato State, Head Coach
- 1995-99: Stanford, Women's Coordinator
- 1999-2006: Penn State, Women's Team Head Coach
- 2006-14: Penn State, Director of Track and Field/Cross Country
- 2014-Present: Tennessee, Director of Track and Field/Cross Country
BY THE NUMBERS
- 12 NCAA Individual Champions
- 300+ All-American honors
- 32 Coach of the Year Awards
- 30 SEC Individual Champions
- 87 SEC Individual Medals
- 9 B1G Team Titles
- 88 B1G Individual Champions
- 19 B1G Champion Relays
ALFORD-SULLIVAN'S OLYMPIANS
- Malindi Elmore (1500m, 2004 Athens)
- Consuella Moore (4x100m, 2004 Athens)
- Toyin Augustus (100m Hurdles, 2008 Beijing)
- Dominique Blake (4x400m, 2008 Beijing)
- Kirsten Nieuwendam (200m, 2008 Beijing/2012 London)
- Shana Cox (400m & 4x400m, 2012 London)
- Bridget Franek (3000m Steeplechase, 2012 London)
- Darrell Hill (Shot Put, 2016 Rio)
- Joe Kovacs* (Shot Put, 2016 Rio)
- Tavis Bailey (Discus, 2016 Rio)
- Christian Coleman (4x100m, 2016 Rio)
- Kali Davis-White (200m, 2016 Rio)
- Joella Lloyd (100m, 2020 Tokyo)
- Carey McLeod (Long Jump & Triple Jump, 2020 Tokyo)
- Stamatia Scarvelis (Hammer Throw, 2020 Tokyo)
- Darryl Sullivan (High Jump, 2020 Tokyo)
- Beth Alford-Sullivan (Team USA Coach, 2004 Athens)
* - Kovacs won the silver medal
In the past seven years, 45 school records have fallen under Sullivan’s reign in Knoxville. 2017 Bowerman Award winner Christian Coleman has four Tennessee records to his name, while six-time All-American Stamatia Scarvelis leads the Lady Vols with three program standards during Sullivan’s tenure.
Tennessee cross country has seen steady improvement under Sullivan’s direct guidance. In 2018, the men’s team tabbed their best SEC (4th) and NCAA Regional (3rd) finishes since 2010 and 2002. In 2019, the Lady Vols posted their best conference (4th) and regional (3rd) outings since 2009.
Behind Sullivan’s leadership, Tom Black Track at LaPorte Stadium underwent some of its most extensive renovations in time to host the 2018 SEC Outdoor Championships. At the 51st Tennessee Relays, the team held a dedication ceremony for three new buildings on site: the Boyd Family Track and Field Center, the Basler Broadcast Center and Phillips Pavilion. The facility also features a unique Tennessee Orange and Smokey Grey track surface that was installed in 2016.
Sullivan’s era has also seen the construction of the scenic Cherokee Farms Cross Country Course, which runs along the Tennessee River just minutes from campus.
The Tennessee track & field program has garnered marked academic success over the past seven seasons. Both squads have set program records for highest team GPA, with Sullivan’s athletes racking up 51 USTFCCCA All-Academic Individual honors in addition to 147 SEC Academic Honor Roll certificates.
2021 saw Tennessee track & field bring home seven total SEC individual championships, 14 SEC event medals, 16 school records, four freshman records and 32 NCAA All-America honors. The Big Orange totaled seven medals at the 2021 SEC Indoor Championships (four gold, two silver, one bronze) between the men's and women's squad. Tennessee finished sixth on the men's side as a team with 50 points, marking the third-straight year the Vols have scored 50 or more at the SEC Indoor Championships.
At the SEC Outdoor Championships, the men's squad finished in a tie for sixth with 67 points over the course of the three-day championship meet. The Vols had four podium finishes and 15 scoring performances, placing in the top-half of the league and scoring more than 60 points as a team for the third-consecutive outdoor conference meet. The Lady Vols took ninth place with 38 points. The women of UT had three medal winners and nine scoring performances throughout the meet.
In addition to the Vols' and Lady Vols' success at the conference level, the men's squad placed 9th at the NCAA Indoor Championships with 21 points, marking the Vols' third top-10 finish indoors and fifth top-10 showing overall under head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan. For the meet, Tennessee totaled 12 All-America honors on the men's side while six Lady Vols earned All-America certificates over the course of the weekend. The 18 total honors were the most for the program at an indoor national championship since 2008.
Tennessee totaled 21 points at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships to place 11th in the team standings nationally. The result marked UT's highest finish at the meet since tying for seventh in 2017. UT jumpers Carey McLeod, Jah-Nhai Perinchief and Darryl Sullivan combined for all 21 of Tennessee's points as all three athletes were making their NCAA Outdoor Championship debuts. UT was one of two schools in the country to score in all three jumping events.
UT also sent four athletes to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics: Joella Lloyd (Antigua & Barbuda), Carey McLeod (Jamaica), Stamatia Scarvelis (Greece) and Darryl Sullivan (USA). Since arriving on Rocky Top in 2014, Alford-Sullivan has sent seven student-athletes to the Olympics.
The new decade was off to a strong start for Tennessee track & field, as the Vols and Lady Vols totaled three SEC individual championships, eight SEC event medals, four school records, three freshman records and 24 top-10 program marks during the 2020 indoor season alone. Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) global health crisis, Tennessee's latest campaign concluded just prior to the NCAA Indoor National Championships on March 12.
The Tennessee men recorded their best finish and point total at the indoor conference meet since 2009, placing fifth in the team standings with 67 points. Sophomore Carey McLeod led the team with 18 points, winning the gold medal in the men's long jump with a school-record leap of 8.19m (26-10.5) while taking home silver in the triple jump. He was later named the SEC and USTFCCCA South Region Men's Field Athlete of the Year.
UT also won both the men's and women's shot put titles at the 2020 SEC indoor meet, marking the eighth time in conference history a school accomplished that feat. Joseph Maxwell and Latavia Maines made their way to the top of the podium with throws of 19.83m (65-0.25) and 16.84m (55-3) respectively.
The 2019 track & field season saw five SEC individual titles, 21 All-America honors, seven program records and 36 top-10 marks in program history for the Big Orange. Senior sprinter Mustaqeem Williams swept 200m conference at the indoor and outdoor championships, while Stamatia Scarvelis picked up SEC gold in the weight throw and hammer throw. Her mark of 24.06m (78-11.25) in the weight throw went down as a conference meet record and the No. 3 mark in SEC history. Alex Crigger also secured an SEC title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, the first for the Vols since 1985.
On the men's side, Tennessee tabbed notable point totals at both the indoor and outdoor SEC Championships. The Vols finishes sixth indoors with 50 points, good for the program's highest finish and point total since 2009. At the outdoor meet, UT recorded 68 points for its highest total since 2008.
Junior high jumper Darryl Sullivan highlighted Tennessee’s performances at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships with a second-place finish, clearing a lifetime-best height of 2.26m (7-5) on his first attempt. The runner-up result in the event was Tennessee’s highest since 1994. Alonie Sutton and LaChyna Roe became the second and third Lady Vols in program history to earn All-America honors in the indoor triple jump as the duo placed seventh and fourth, respectively.
The Vols put together a strong team effort in 2018, accounting for two SEC championships, 17 SEC medals and 11 program records between the indoor and outdoor seasons. Mustaqeem Williams won the SEC 200-meter title during the indoor season, and Stamatia Scarvelis took good in the hammer throw during the outdoor championship. Tennessee hosted the SEC outdoor meet at Tom Black Track for the first time since 2010 with the Lady Vols finishing fourth and the men taking sixth.
During the 2017 season, the Tennessee men tied for 10th at the NCAA Indoor Championship and finished in a tie for seventh at the NCAA Outdoor Championship, the third and fourth consecutive top-10 finishes for the men's team. Student-athletes accounted for nine school records and appeared 73 times on the school's all-time top-10 lists.
The 2017 season was notable in part due to some fantastic individual performances. Christian Coleman won the NCAA National Championship in the 60m and 200m during the indoor season as he tied a collegiate record in the 60m (6.45) and recorded the second-fastest 200m in collegiate history at 20.11. He followed that up by winning the 100m and 200m dashes at the NCAA Outdoor Championship, joining VFL Justin Gatlin as the only two people to accomplish the double-double. Coleman set the collegiate record in the 100m (9.82) and posted the second-fastest 200m (19.85) in collegiate history during the outdoor season. He was named both the USTFCCCA Indoor and Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year and in December 2017, he earned the Bowerman Award, given to the nation's top collegiate track and field athlete.
However, Coleman wasn't the only success story as the Vols recorded 12 All-American honors and seven SEC medals during the 2017 season. Tennessee student-athletes also set school records in the hammer throw on both the men's and women's side (Seth Whitener, Stamatia Scarvelis). Chelsea Blaase earned her seventh first-team All-America honor as she took seventh in the 10,000m race at the NCAA Outdoor Championship. Additionally, freshman Megan Murray competed for the United States at the 2017 World Cross Country Championship. Murray made Team USA after finishing fifth at the trials and then posted a 10th place finish at the NACAC Championship. The Vols also posted 24 student-athletes on the 2017 SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Alford-Sullivan led the Vols to three individual national titles during the 2016 season. Jake Blankenship cleared 5.60 meters (18-4.50) to win the men's pole vault NCAA Outdoor Championship, the first men's outdoor national champion since 2006. Coleman set a Tennessee outdoor school record in the 100 meters with a 10.03 (+1.6) in the NCAA semifinal, and then claimed silver in the finals of both the 100m and 200m. During the indoor season, Coleman and Felicia Brown earned national championships in the 200m. With Coleman's and Brown's national titles, Tennessee became the first school in NCAA Indoor Track and Field history to win both men's 200 meters and the women's 200 meters at the same championship meet.
Coleman earned the SEC Men's Indoor Runner of the Year Award. Brown was the 2016 USTFCCCA South Region Women's Track Athlete of the Year for both the indoor and outdoor seasons as well as the 2016 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Women's Co-Runner of the Year. In addition to the Indoor 200m National Championship she also claimed titles at SEC Indoors and SEC Outdoors.
Chelsea Blaase claimed the indoor SEC Championship in both the 3000m and 5000m events which tied her for the meet's highest scorer. She also won the outdoor SEC Championship in the 10,000m event and took second in the 5000m. Blaase finished as the runner up in the SEC Cross Country championship before winning the NCAA South Regional and finishing 14th at the NCAA Championship.
The men's team was named the 2016 USTFCCCA DI Track and Field Scholar Team of the Year for both the 2016 indoor and outdoor seasons. The UT women garnered All-Academic team honors and 11 Vols were named All-Academic Individuals.
During Alford-Sullivan's first season in charge of the Vols track and field program Tavis Bailey earned a national-runner up spot in the discus at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championship. Cameron Brown won the SEC title in the weight throw as Bailey took second.
During the 2014 cross country season, Blaase finished third at the SEC Championship, second at the NCAA South Regional and took 10th in the national championship as she was an All-American during the cross country, indoor and outdoor seasons.
Prior to coming to Tennessee, Sullivan spent 15 seasons at Penn State, including eight as the director and head coach of a combined men's and women's program. Sullivan originally joined Penn State in the fall of 1999 as head coach of the women's track and field program.
Alford-Sullivan had a tremendous record of success at Penn State, including the women's team finishing the 2013-14 season ranked as the No. 6 Track & Field and Cross Country program in the nation by the USTFCCCA. Her tenure has produced nine Big Ten team championships, including the women's program capturing its fifth Big Ten outdoor championship (fifth in the last seven years) and second consecutive this May. Penn State won eight Big Ten championships overall in 2013-14 (including one team and seven individual), equaling the school record set the year before. Sullivan was named the Big Ten Women's Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season, her fifth overall Big Ten Coach of the Year outdoor honor. She has earned nine overall Coach of the Year accolades at Penn State.
The Nittany Lions sent 38 competitors to the NCAA First Round this year, 15 of whom qualified for the NCAA Championships. Four Penn State competitors earned All-America honors at the NCAA Championships, bringing the total during Sullivan's tenure to 158 (116 women and 42 men). In 2010, Penn State's women's program ranked third in the annual Program of the Year standings, trailing only Oregon and Florida.
In addition to the 158 All-Americans, the litany of accomplishments under Sullivan's leadership at Penn State includes nine Big Ten team titles, 88 Big Ten individual champions, 19 Big Ten Champion relays, and four individual NCAA champions. The Nittany Lions have also won one NCAA Champion relay, one Big Ten "Triple Crown," eight Big Ten Championship records, and five Big Ten Athletes of the Year.
The Penn State women's program has scored in the last 12 NCAA Outdoor Championships as well as in 11 of the last 12 NCAA Indoor Championships. The squad has also recorded two "trophy team" finishes in the last five years, placing fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2008 and 2010.
The Nittany Lion men's program finished in the top 25 in the seven consecutive NCAA track and field competitions. The 2013 indoor team finished ninth nationally and played 11th at the 2011 NCAA Indoors. The 2010-11 men's program also finished 11th in the "John McDonnell Program of the Year" standings, honoring overall combined program excellence between the cross country, indoor, and outdoor seasons.
Excellence in the classroom has also been a staple under Sullivan at Penn State, as the women's team has earned United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic honors in each of her 14 seasons at Penn State. In 2010, they were named the USTFCCCA Scholar Team of the Year. The Nittany Lions also piled up numerous All-Big Ten academic honors. The men's and women's programs both posted GPAs over 3.0 during recent fall semesters.
One of the most impressive seasons during Sullivan's tenure was in 2012, when the Nittany Lions featured 12 First Team All-Americans and set multiple school records. The men's 4x400-meter relay squad finished second in the NCAA Indoor Championships, the highest finish in that event in school history, while setting and subsequently breaking the school record several times, last at 3:05.22. The team also set the relay school record of 3:01.52 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2012.
The 2011-12 campaign also featured eight individual Big Ten champions and two conference champion relays. The cross country squad also finished 13th in 2011-12, the highest finish for the program in almost two decades.
Overall in Big Ten competition during her time at Penn State, Sullivan has seen her women competitors claim 50 individual conference titles as well as 13 relay wins over the past 11 years. Additionally, the men have won 21 individual titles under Sullivan and two relay wins. Since 2003, the Penn State women's program has finished no less than fourth in the overall team standings.
Sullivan joined Penn State after five seasons at Stanford, where she coached more than 30 NCAA All-American athletes and one NCAA individual champion as the women's coordinator for the Cardinal track program. Sullivan was also the head coach at Mankato State from 1993-95 and an assistant at Southeast Missouri State from 1991-93. She graduated with a degree in social work in 1989 from the University of Minnesota, where she competed in cross country and track and field, serving as captain of the cross country team from her sophomore through her senior seasons.
Sullivan's husband, Jim, serves as a volunteer assistant with the Tennessee track and field team and works directly with the pole vaulters.
