BYU athletics: Longtime women's track and field coach resigns to take Team USA post

PROVO — Craig Poole, BYU's highly successful women's track and field coach for 30 years, resigned his position this week to accept a job with USA Track & Field.

Poole has been hired as head coach, manager and director of the USA Track & Field Resident Program at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. He will be working with America's top male and female elite athletes — specifically, only those who have met the A qualifying standard for the Olympics.

"They began talking to me at the Mt. SAC Relays, and we have continued to have discussions," says Poole. "Our desire is to make it a permanent place for athletes to come and get coaching."

At BYU, Poole's teams won 28 of 30 conference championships while producing 169 All-American citations, 18 individual national championships and six Olympians. His success at BYU led to national team positions — head coach of the U.S. team at the World University Games in 2002, assistant coach of the U.S. Olympic team in 2004 and head coach for the women's U.S. World Championships team in '93, to name a few.

"There are only a handful of coaches in the country who can compare success stories to Coach Poole's," said BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe. "He is a future Hall of Famer for sure."

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