Brent Ericksen Returns to Lead Cross Country, Track

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Director of Athletics Scott Lazenby announced Brent Ericksen will return to the Island as the new Director of Cross Country and Track & Field.
 
Ericksen, who previously served as an associate head coach for the Islanders in 2007-08, returns to Corpus Christi after a two-year stint as the Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach at Portland State. Ericksen brings a wealth of coaching experience to the Island, including more than a decade as a head coaching experience.
 
"We're very excited to have Brent return to the Island and lead the Cross Country and Track & Field programs," said Lazenby. "From his previous time here and his continued success at every stop during his career, it's clear Brent has what it takes to lead a championship-caliber program. I look forward to watching him continue to build this program in the coming years." 
 
Over the course of his career, Ericksen has coached 141 All-Americans and led 16 national championship squads. Having coached at all levels in the collegiate structure, he is one of just two coaches to win national championships in different sports, in different divisions. Twice Ericksen has been named National Coach of the Year en route to a total of 11 Coach of the Year honors.
 
"I'm extremely thankful for the opportunity to be back as the new Director of Cross Country and Track & Field and I want to thank Scott Lazenby and Mary Wallace for providing me with the opportunity," said Ericksen. "The new track facility is awesome and having a cross country course adjacent to the track complex is incredible. Coach Flanagan did a great job starting the program from scratch and we will do everything we can to try to build on that success.  It's great to be an Islander again!"
 
Most recently, Ericksen has spent the past two seasons as the head coach at Portland State. With the Vikings, he led the men's cross country program to his highest Big Sky finish in program history while matching the women's best finish in the conference. In track & field, Ericksen's athletes produced 84 new top-10 marks, including eight school records. He also had six athletes win Big Sky titles and seven NCAA qualifiers.
 
Following his initial stint on the Island in 2007-08, Ericksen went on to become the head coach at Southern Oregon. After three years leading the Southern Oregon programs, an NAIA National Championship and National Coach of the Year Award, he moved on to Morehead State where he helped the Eagles soar to new heights with 15 records in outdoor track. Another hallmark of Ericksen-led squads, Morehead State excelled academically with both teams earning NCAA Division I All-Academic recognition.
 
Other stops on Ericksen's path include the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where Ericksen led the outdoor track & field program to an NCAA record-setting 65-point margin of victory at the D-III National Championship. Ericksen also held a six-year tenure as the leader of the Cross Country and Track & Field programs at Texas A&M-Kingsville. While in South Texas, Ericksen produced five top 10 national finishes and 77 All-Americans. He also led the Javelinas to 10 national titles in sprint, hurdle and jump events.
 
Prior to taking over the Texas A&M-Kingsville program, Ericksen spent a decade as an assistant coach. He began his coaching career at Cal Poly before also making stops at Mount Marty College, Marquette, South Dakota State and Cal State Stanislaus.
 
Ericksen earned a Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education from Cal State Stanislaus in 1989 before earning his Master of Science in Human Movement and Sport from Cal Poly in 1992.
 
A press conference to formally introduce Ericksen as the Islanders' Director of Cross Country and Track & Field will be held later this month.