Aug. 26, 2008
WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Army Athletic Association has named Troy Engle head coach of the Army men's and women's cross country and track & field teams, Athletic Director Kevin Anderson announced on Monday. Engle returns to the U.S. Military Academy after previously serving as an instructor of physical education and assistant coach for the men's and women's track & field teams from 1995-96 and again in 1998.
"I cannot begin to express my excitement about starting my new role at West Point," said Engle. "It has been my life's dream. The Army track and field tradition has been long and storied, but moreover, the impact of the Academy on our nation's history has been time honored. It is my privilege to be the new coach at West Point and I am honored beyond words."
Engle is currently the head coach of the U.S. Track and Field team for the 2008 Paralympic Games being held in Beijing from September 6-17. He will begin his duties at West Point on October 1. In addition to his coaching duties, Engle serves as the associate director of the Paralympic Division of the United States Olympic Committee.
Prior to joining the USOC, Engle was the head coach of the men's and women's track & field and cross country teams, assistant athletic director, and athletic department business manager at Division III Occidental College in Los Angeles, Calif. He turned the women's cross country team, which was initially unable to field a full program, into a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title winner by his fourth year. In his seventh and final year at the school, Engle led the team to its first NCAA appearance in 12 years. He also tripled the size of the men's and women's track & field rosters as the team went from a combined roster of 20 in one year to over 70.
Engle garnered three West Regional NCAA Division III Coach of the Year honors at Occidental; one for cross country (2006) and two in indoor track & field (2003 and 2005).
Engle was the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the men's and women's track & field team at Kansas State University for the 1998-99 academic year. There, he helped coach all the events and assisted in recruiting a class which was rated third-best in Division I by Track & Field News.
Engle served as "Director of Sports" for the Papau New Guinea Sports Commission in between his two stints at Army. There, Engle directed all sports development programs for a nation of five million people and served as the national track and field coach.
In 1995, Engle was named to the staff of the USA national men's team that traveled to Barcelona for the World Indoor Championships. In 1994, he served as the USA men's coach at the Pan America Racewalking Cup and was also an assistant coach for the women's North Team at the U.S. Olympic Festival.
Engle closed out a successful stint as head men's and women's track and cross country coach at Washington (Mo.) University (1992-94), guiding the women's outdoor track & field and cross country teams to the University Athletic Association title in his final season. His efforts earned him UAA "Coach of the Year" honors in both track and cross country. Engle was also the men's track and cross country coach at Swarthmore College (1991-92), and first served as the national coach for Papua New Guinea from 1987-91.
Engle earned his bachelor's degree from Amherst College in 1983 where he starred for four years on the track circuit. While working towards his master's degree in sport management from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (1985), he qualified for the 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials, where he placed sixth in the 50-kilometer racewalk and 11th in the 20-kilometer racewalk.
Engle is replacing former head coach Jerry Quiller, who retired after 13 years at West Point.
