Travis Geopfert

Title:
Associate Head Coach
Email:
Tracktravis@tennessee.edu
Phone:
(865) 974-4000

The 2019-20 season marked Travis Geopfert’s (pronounced GEFF-ert) second year as an associate head coach at Tennessee. He works directly with UT’s jumpers and combined event athletes.

THE GEOPFERT FILE

Coaching Experience

2002-03: Central Missouri State, Graduate Assistant
2003-08: Northern Iowa, Assistant
2008-09: Northern Iowa, Head Coach
2009-18: Arkansas, Assistant
2018-present: Tennessee, Associate Head Coach

BY THE NUMBERS

4 Olympians
7 World Championship Qualifiers
11 NCAA Individual National Champions
20 NCAA Top-10 team finishes
71 Individual Conference Champions
76 NCAA 1st Team All-Americans, scoring 359 pts.
36 NCAA 2nd Team All-Americans
141 NCAA National Finals qualifiers

AWARDS

2013 USTFCCCA National Asst. Coach of the Year
2014 USTFCCCA National Asst. Coach of the Year

In his second season with the Vols, Geopfert earned his fifth-career USTFCCCA Regional Assistant Coach of the Year award and was voted by his peers as one of three finalists for National Assistant Coach of the Year. He most notably guided SEC Field Athlete of the Year Carey McLeod to a long jump gold medal at the SEC Indoor Championships, where McLeod leaped 8.19 meters (26-10.5) to tie the No. 17 performer in collegiate indoor history. The Jamaican sophomore also took home silver in the triple jump with a jump of 16.49 meters (54-1.25), just one centimeter shy of the gold medal.

During the 2020 indoor season, Geopfert coached two-time Bowerman watch list member Darryl Sullivan to a high jump clearance of 2.33 meters (7-7.75) at the Virginia Tech Invitational, which tied the all-time SEC indoor record and No. 4 jump in collegiate indoor history. The mark also equaled the 2020 Olympic qualifying standard.

In the SEC men's heptathlon this past season, Geopfert coached two freshmen to scoring performances as Yariel Soto (5,498 points) and Peyton Davis (5,204) placed fourth and sixth respectively. It was the first time UT had two top-8 finishers in the event since 2008. Soto's total of 5,498 points ranked No. 7 on the Tennessee all-time top 10 list, and his fourth-place finish at SECs was the best for the Vols since 2009.

On the women's side, Geopfert guided sophomore Alonie Sutton to her first career SEC medal in the women's triple jump (13.28m / 43-7). Freshman Prom'Myse Hoosier went 6.26 meters (20-6.5) in the long jump at the indoor conference meet for fifth place and the No. 5 performace in Lady Vol history indoors.

Geopfert’s first year on Rocky Top saw a resurgence in the team’s jump squad, as his student-athletes combined for six All-America honors, three program records and two SEC medals. Darryl Sullivan finished second in the high jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships, while the Tennessee women’s triple jump tandem of LaChyna Roe and Alonie Sutton collected a total of four All-America certificates. Jalen Tate also competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships for a total of five triple jump NCAA qualifiers between the indoor and outdoor seasons.

Geopfert spent nine years as an assistant coach at Arkansas, where he was named the 2013 and 2014 USTFCCCA National Assistant Coach of the Year. Prior to his time in Fayetteville, he was on the Northern Iowa staff for six seasons - helping the Panthers secure two top-10 NCAA finishes.

"Travis is an amazing coach, an outstanding recruiter and will bring a great spark to our staff as we move forward into phase two of bringing track back at Tennessee," head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "Travis' accomplishments from Northern Iowa to Arkansas are among the best of the coaches in our field. What he has accomplished under head coach Chris Bucknam and the staff at Arkansas shows that Travis has all the skill set to help propel us to the top of the podiums."

"I am thrilled to have him, his wife Nicole and his family, join our Tennessee track and field family. I'm looking forward to this opportunity to join forces."

Geopfert has coached 11 NCAA national champions, which notably includes 2016 Bowerman Award winner Jarrion Lawson, who completed the "Jesse Owens Triple" of winning the 100 meters, 200 meters and long jump at the 2016 NCAA outdoor meet.

In his 18 years of coaching, Geopfert has led student-athletes to 70 conference titles and has worked with four Olympians and seven world championship qualifiers. He has a track record of producing numerous standouts in the jumps and combined events, coaching 24 NCAA national qualifiers in long jump and 23 in the decathlon/heptathlon with five NCAA titles. The 2012 Razorbacks finished 1-2-3-6 in the decathlon at the SEC outdoor meet.

In addition to standout individual performances, Geopfert has been part of extensive team success on the conference and national stage. This includes 20 NCAA top-10 finishes, including the 2013 NCAA indoor national championship at Arkansas, and 30 team conference championships.

"I'd first like to thank Coach Sullivan, Senior Associate AD Donna Thomas, and Tennessee AD Coach Fulmer for their confidence and belief in me to help build upon the rich tradition that is Tennessee track and field," Geopfert said. "The energy and excitement that Coach Sullivan and her staff are continually cultivating is something I'm very much looking forward to being a part of. I'd be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to thank the administration, staff, support staff and student-athletes at the University of Arkansas for a wonderful nine years there. In particular, I'd like to thank my long time colleagues, mentors and friends Chris Bucknam and Doug Case for helping me develop into the person and coach I am today. It's a lifelong friendship that I value tremendously.

"With that being said, I'm thrilled to move forward with this exciting opportunity of fulfilling the vision that Coach Sullivan has set on Rocky Top. There is a lot of passion and enthusiasm that surrounds Tennessee Track and Field. I have great relationships with many of the former coaches and alums and our family is very much looking forward to being part of Vol Nation."

Geopfert’s coaching career began at Central Missouri State, where he spent one year as a graduate assistant coach for the NCAA Division II program. During the 2002-03 season, Geopfert coached two national champions, one national runner-up, six All-Americans and five conference champions.

As a collegiate competitor for Northern Iowa, Geopfert earned All-America honors and was a three-time MVC champion. Including his professional athletic career, he was a two-time Drake Relays decathlon championships, three-time member of the Thorpe Cup and a six-time USA Championships qualifier in the decathlon.

A native of Panora, Iowa, Geopfert earned his bachelor’s degree from Northern Iowa in 2002. He and his wife Nicole have one daughter, Ellyn, and two sons, Jones and Jax.