Vanderbilt Cross Country Coach Steve Keith To Retire After 15 Years

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Vanderbilt Cross Country Coach Steve Keith. Photo: by Daniel Dubois/Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt cross country head coach Steve Keith has announced that he will be retiring after 15 years with the Commodores.

Keith, a Vanderbilt alum and cross country letter winner from 1977-81, led Vanderbilt to unprecedented success during his reign. A three-time South Region Coach of the Year, he guided the Commodores to their first back-to-back top-15 showings in the USTFCCCA’s prestigious Program of the Year rankings, the school’s first SEC cross country title and Vanderbilt’s first appearance at the NCAA Cross Country championships—which has now become a regular occurrence.

“I’m proud and honored to have been called ‘Coach’ at my alma mater these past 15 years and with the last 10 years as the director of the program,” says Keith. “It’s never easy saying goodbye, but I feel like the timing is good for me to take a step back from coaching and retire. I trust that I am leaving the program in a much stronger position than when I arrived which is really all you can ask for. My staff has been fantastic and all of our successes have come from a common objective focused on developing champions and leaders.”

Keith earned his first regional and SEC Coach of the Year award in 2011 when he led the women’s cross country program to its first SEC title. Five Commodores finished in the top nine and three captured All-SEC first team honors, while two earned spots on the second team. Vanderbilt also placed three runners on the SEC All-Freshmen team. The Commodores went on to finish second at the NCAA South Regional, earning the program’s first ever trip to the NCAA Championships. Vanderbilt placed sixth in the nation at the event as Alexa Rogers finished 39th and became the program’s first All-American.

“We appreciate Steve for his service to the cross country and track and field programs and to the athletics department and the university,” says Vice Chancellor for Athletics and University Affairs and Athletic Director Candice Lee. “Under his direction, our teams reached new heights and he should take great pride in the impact that he had. He operated with the utmost integrity, and never wavered in his commitment to our student-athletes. We wish him all the best in his next chapter.”

Keith was instrumental in bringing the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships to Vanderbilt for the first time in school history in 2017. He has overseen nearly all of the current indoor and outdoor track and field school record holders. His student-athletes have earned 14 track and field All-America honors and two cross country All-America honors in the past 10 years which were the first in program history.

Steven Boero
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