Dennis Mitchell (2014) - Hall of Fame - University of Akron Athletics

Dennis Mitchell

Induction:
2014

Head Coach
1995 to Present

Current Bio

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Dennis Mitchell, one of the longest-tenured coaches in the league and a 18-time Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year, was in his 20th season at the University of Akron in 2015.

In all, he has received the league’s top coaching honor 10 times for his women’s teams and eight times for his men’s teams. Additionally, Mitchell has earned Great Lakes Region Outdoor Coach of the Year recognition from the USTFCCCA on four occasions; twice each for the men’s and women’s teams.

Known for his high-energy home track meets, Mitchell has not only made Akron’s Stile Athletics Field House the home of Mid-American Champions, but a destination for some of the top indoor talent in the northeast United States with the annual Akron Invitational.

Since 1998, Mitchell’s teams have produced 28 All-Americans, who have garnered a total of 70 All-America honors. Of that esteemed group, four have gone on to win NCAA Championships. Christi Smith captured the heptathlon crown in 2000, Stevi Large won the hammer in 2009, while in 2014 Shawn Barber claimed the indoor pole vault crown and Annika Roloff the outdoor pole vault title.

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Additionally, a total of 126 Academic All-MAC honors have been bestowed upon UA student-athletes during Mitchell’s tenure, including Mary Varga, a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, seven-time MAC Champion and five-time USTFCCCA All-American.

Most recently, Mitchell has orchestrated a historic rise on the men’s side that saw the program capture seven MAC Indoor and Outdoor team titles since 2008, including back-to-back sweeps in 2012 and 2011.

Mitchell overseas Cross Country as well where the Zips have won two cross country MAC Team titles.

Among Mitchell’s other track & field-related responsibilities is his national-level involvement with USA Track & Field and the U.S. Track and Field Coaches Association.

Mitchell is a native of Rialto, Calif., and a 1985 graduate of Abilene Christian University. While at ACU, he was a pole vaulter on the Wildcats’ 1985 NCAA Division II Championship team. Mitchell began his collegiate career at the University of Utah, where he was twice the Western Athletic Conference runner-up in the pole vault.