Akron's Mitchell to Retire as Zips' Head Track and Field Coach

AKRON HEAD TRACK AND FIELD COACH DENNIS MITCHELL THANK YOU LETTER

AKRON, Ohio - University of Akron head track and field coach Dennis Mitchell announced his retirement after 27 seasons leading the Zips' program on Friday, July 15.

Mitchell will officially end his Hall of Fame Akron career on August 31.

"We would like to begin by expressing our monumental gratitude to Coach Mitchell for his phenomenal leadership as The University of Akron (UA) head track and field coach for the past 27 seasons," said athletic director Charles Guthrie. "He has led our Nationally recognized program with integrity, humility and grace, leaving a lasting impact on the track and field community as a whole."

"Coach Mitchell's influence at UA extends well beyond the 33-time Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year awards and 33 MAC championships. He will be forever known to our community as one of the all-time greats, who developed and empowered UA student-athletes to reach new heights in competition and in life."

The 33-time MAC of the Year, Mitchell has led the Zips to a league-best 17 women's championships (7 indoor/10 outdoor) and 16 men's titles (8 indoor/8 outdoor) over his 27 campaigns at the helm of the Akron program en route to being honored seven times by the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as its Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year. Akron was the first women's program in MAC history to win the Triple Crown in 2005-06 school year (winning cross country, indoor and outdoor titles in the same school year).

"It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve as Akron's head coach for these many years," said Mitchell. "I will greatly miss the interaction with the athletes here. In partnership with outstanding assistant coaches, I enjoyed figuring out how to get each athlete to meet their high expectations and goals and I hope each of them had a fulfilling experience here at The University of Akron."

Since 1998, Mitchell's teams have produced 48 individual (includes one for cross country) All-Americans (first- or second-team honorees), including 40 first-team members, who have garnered a total of 125 All-America honors. Of that esteemed group, six have gone on to win NCAA Championships.

Shawn Barber, a 2015 Bowerman Award finalist, is a three-time NCAA Champion for Akron winning the indoor and outdoor pole vault crowns in 2015 as well as the 2014 indoor title. Christi Smith captured the heptathlon crown in 2000, while Stevi Large won the hammer in 2009 and Annika Roloff won the 2014 outdoor pole vault title. Clayton Murphy became the Zips first-ever NCAA Champion in a running event when he captured the 800-meter crown at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships. He then went on to earn the 1,500-meter title at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships. In the spring of 2017, Matt Ludwig became the latest Zips' NCAA Champion capturing the 2017 men's outdoor pole vault title eclipsing 18-4.50 (5.60m) at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore.

Mitchell's athletes have excelled on the world stage as he has coached five Olympians in Shawn Barber (Pole Vault-2016), Amya Clarke (100m-2020), Matt Ludwig (Pole Vault-2020), Clayton Murphy (800m-2016; 800m-2020) and Annika Roloff (Pole Vault-2016).

Under Mitchell's tenure, Akron student-athletes captured 327 individual and 25 relay MAC titles en route to establishing nearly every school record (89) in program history. Nine Zips have been tabbed as a USTFCCCA Great Lakes Regional Athlete of the Year under his guidance.

The Zips' sustained dominance under Mitchell is even more impressive over a six-year period from 2014-19 as Akron won seven of the program's nine national titles en route to earning 31 indoor and 50 outdoor All-America awards.

From 2014-19, Akron was one of only 10 programs nationally to score in both the men's and women's team competitions at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. The Zips were the lone non-Power-5 Conference institution included on that list.

The Zips have excelled in the classroom under Mitchell as a total of 515 Academic All-MAC honors have been bestowed upon Akron 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. Additionally, Ludwig was honored as the 2017 USTFCCCA D1 National Scholastic Field Athlete of the Year.

The Akron women's squad recorded a 3.489 cumulative GPA this past season to be honored for the 20th consecutive campaign by the USTFCCCA as an All-Academic Team recipient, while the men's team registered a 3.050 team GPA to be honored for the seventh time since 2012.

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.

Mitchell and his wife, Cindy, reside in Portage Lakes. Cindy is a pole vault official, has graduated from the Leadership Akron program and is a graduate of the University of Akron. The couple has two sons; Matt and Chad (a graduate of Akron) and three grandchildren.

A national search for his replacement is underway.

MITCHELL COACHING RESUME
• 515 Academic All-MAC honors
• 327 MAC individual championships (90 Men's Indoor | 84 Women's Outdoor | 82 Men's Outdoor | 71 Women's Indoor)
• 125 All-America accolades, including 40 First-Team All-Americans
• 89 Akron Track and Field records
• 33 MAC titles (10 Women's Outdoor | 8 Men's Outdoor | 8 Men's Indoor | 7 Women's Indoor)
• 33 MAC Coach of the Year awards
• 27 years leading the track and field program at Akron
• 25 MAC relay titles (22-Men | 3-Women)
• 9 Individual NCAA Champions
• 9 USTFCCCA Great Lakes Regional Athlete of the Year accolades (7 Men | 2 Women)
• 8 CoSIDA Academic All-America award winners (3 First-Team selections)
• 7 USTFCCCA Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year honors
• 1 Bowerman Award finalist (Shawn Barber-2015)
• 2006 Head Men's USA Coach - USA vs. Russia, Great Britain, and China (Birmingham England)
• 2003 Assistant Men's USA Coach at Pan Am U20 Meet (Barbados)
• 2015 USATF National College Pole Vault Coach of the Year
• 2008 to present member of the USATF Rules Committee
• Akron twice finished in Top-10 at the NCAA Championships
• Thirteen times the Zips placed in the Top-25 at NCAA Championships
• Several Top-10 dual-team rankings - Ranked 4th nationally in 2014 & 2020 Track and Field News NCAA D1 Indoor Dual Rankings

AKRON MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS UNDER MITCHELL
• MAC Women's Outdoor Championships (10) – 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2015, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 1999
• MAC Men's Indoor Championships (8) – 2020, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2011
• MAC Men's Outdoor Championships (8) – 2019, 2017, 2016, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2009, 2008
• MAC Women's Indoor Championships (7) – 2021, 2017, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005
• MAC Women's Cross Country Championships (2) – 2005, 1999

AKRON TOP-25 NCAA FINISHES UNDER MITCHELL
• Men – Outdoor (5) – 2018 (16th), 2017 (17th), 2016 (23rd), 2015 (12th), 2014 (20th)
• Women – Outdoor (4) – 2014(10th), 2009 (20th), 2004 (24th), 2000 (23rd)
• Men – Indoor (3) – 2016 (20th), 2015 (9th), 2014 (16th)
• Women – Indoor (1) – 2015 (18th)

About Zips Athletics
Founded in 1870, The University of Akron (UA) is one of Ohio's most influential public urban research universities, conducting high-quality research in focused areas of excellence, contributing to the vitality of the local economy, and providing a workforce highly trained in diverse disciplines. The University offers more than 200 degree programs, including unique, highly ranked associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral and law degrees — with accreditations by 35 professional agencies. UA is focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, investment in community and economic growth. Akron sponsors 17 NCAA Division I sports with more than 500 student-athletes. Learn more at gozips.com.

The University of Akron Athletics

Akron's Mitchell to Retire as Zips' Head Track and Field Coach

Players Mentioned

Amya Clarke

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