Steve Gulley Position: Head Coach - Track & Field/Cross Country Experience: 10th Year

Steve Gulley is entering his 10th season as head track and field, and cross country coach at The University of Tulsa. During his tenure, he has turned the Golden Hurricane into one of the best squads in Conference USA.

Under Gulley's tenure, the Golden Hurricane has qualified 32 student-athletes for the NCAA Championships and garnered 10 All-America honors during that time. These honors have come from Fride Vullum in the 5,000-meters in 2001, Charlotte Sanderson in the 10,000-meters in 2001, Shana Robinson in the 200-meters in 2003, Melanie Hardy in the 800-meters in 2005, Alex Becker in cross country as well as the 3,000-meters and 5,000-meters in 2007 and the 5,000-meters and the 10,000-meters in 2009, John Beattie in cross country in 2008, and Mark Davidson in the mile-run in 2009.

During this time, Gulley has coached 37 individual WAC and C-USA conference champions and helped three athletes qualify to represent their countries at the World Championships.

In the 2009 season, Tulsa produced three All-Americans and eight individual C-USA champions. Mark Davidson earned All-America honors in the mile-run during the indoor season by turning in an eighth place finish at the NCAA Championships. Davidson also won the C-USA championship in the mile-run and the 3,000-meters in the indoor season. Alex Becker was named an All-American in the 5,000-meters and the 10,000-meters during the outdoor season after finishing sixth in the 5,000-meters and fifth in the 10,000-meters at the NCAA Championships. John Beattie won the conference championship in the 5,000-meters during the indoor season and the 10,000-meters during the outdoor campaign.

Gulley also sent a total of seven athletes to the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships during the 2009 season. Mark Davidson participated in the mile-run and Jennifer Mace ran in the 400 meters at the indoor championships. Alex Becker (5,000 meters and 10,000 meters), Jennifer Mace (400 meters), April Montgomery (400-meter hurdles), John Beattie (10,000 meters) and Justin Duncan (1,500 meters) all represented Tulsa at the outdoor championships.

The 2008 men's cross country team set several school records, including a 13th-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. John Beattie became the first male cross country athlete to be named an All-American after finishing 29th at the national meet. The men's team achieved its highest national ranking from the USTFCCCA poll at No. 15, and was nationally-ranked for a record seven consecutive weeks. At the Midwest Regionals, the men's team finished third and placed five runners on the all-region team, both school records.

Gulley was also named 2008 C-USA Cross Country Men's Coach of the Year after guiding the men's team to its first C-USA team championship. John Beattie won the 2008 C-USA Cross Country Men's Individual Championship and was named C-USA Male Cross Country Athlete of the Year. The Hurricane placed a total of 11 athletes on the men's and women's all-C-USA teams, and had three all-conference all-academic selections.

In the 2008 campaign, Tulsa garnered five individual Conference USA champions, qualified two athletes for the NCAA Championships and had two runners compete in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Mark Davidson won the C-USA Indoor Championship in the 3,000m and the outdoor title in the 1,500m. Davidson also ran in 1,500m at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, finishing in 14th place. Lewis Timmins won the conference indoor title in the mile-run. Alex Becker captured the C-USA Indoor Championship in the 3,000m with a conference-record time of 9:30.44, and qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships but did not run due to injury. Becker along with John Beattie ran at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships representing Canada and Great Britain, respectively.

In the 2007 season, Tulsa qualified its first field event athlete for the NCAA Championships with Stephanie Jeffers' school-record performance in the shot put and its first outdoor male distance qualifier with a school-record performance from Edwin Henshaw in the 5,000-meters. In the sprint hurdles, Rickey Wilson, Jr. became the first back-to-back individual conference champion in school history with consecutive C-USA titles in the 110-meter hurdles. During the fall of 2007, Alex Becker became the first three-sport All-American in school history.

In addition to Tulsa's success in track and field, the 2007 men's cross country team earned the first team berth in school history to the NCAA Cross Country Championships and its previous highest national ranking from the USTFCCA at 17th. Also in the 2007 season, two Tulsa athletes earned post-season honors, with Alex Becker being named 2007 C-USA Female Athlete of the Year and John Beattie earning C-USA Newcomer of the Year. The women's cross country team also earned its highest finish in school history at the 2007 NCAA Midwest Regional, while Alex Becker earned the school's first cross country All-America honors at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Under Gulley's tenure, both the women's and men's cross country teams captured the first conference championships in school history in 2001 and 2003, respectively.

Gulley came to Tulsa from Baylor University where he served as head cross country coach, and assistant track and field coach. In 12 seasons as the head coach for cross country, Gulley produced one of Baylor's most successful athletic programs. His teams won six conference titles, had 22 individual conference distance title-holders, made seven NCAA Cross Country Championship team appearances, and earned 18 All-America honors and three Academic All-American honors. He was named the Southwest Conference Coach of the Year eight times and the District VI Coach of the Year once. Gulley was the first coach in SWC history to win both the men's and women's cross country titles in the same year (1992). With six conference titles to his credit, Gulley won more conference crowns than any other coach in the history of Baylor sports.

Gulley's squads at Baylor also made an impact on the national scene. Of the women's seven NCAA championship team appearances, their best came in 1998 with an eighth-place finish. His teams also placed 10th (1991), 17th (1992), 18th (1990 and 1992) and 22nd (1989 and 1994) nationally.

Gulley was named Southwest Conference Women's Coach of the Year five consecutive times (1989-93) and again in 1995. He received the same honor on the men's side in 1992 and 1994. Gulley was also selected to coach the South team at the 1993 U.S. Olympic Sports Festival in San Antonio, Texas. While at Baylor, Gulley coached 14 athletes to 27 conference titles. One of those athletes made SWC history by claiming All-America honors in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. In all, the Bears claimed two distance event conference titles and four runner-up finishes in the Big XII Outdoor Championships in 1999.

As the assistant coach for the track and field squads, Gulley helped in the development of 29 female All-Americans and 50 male All-Americans. He coached 14 top-10 finishers at the NCAA Championships on the men's side with two more top-10 finishers on the women's side. Three times Gulley coached three-sport All-Americans.

In addition to his responsibilities at Baylor, Gulley created a summer camp in 1994 for runners from ages 10 through 18, which accommodated over 90 campers at one time. His success and experience allowed him to be a five-time speaker at the Texas High School Coaching Clinic. Gulley also served as Director of the Woodway Family Center in Waco, Texas. During his four years at the center, he developed and organized several summer day-camp programs for children and organized adult activity leagues for the center's members. After helping to raise funds, he was also in charge of building new facilities and playing fields.

Gulley began coaching at Baylor in 1985 as a graduate assistant. He graduated from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla. in 1983 with a degree in education. He was a three-year letterwinner for the Redmen in track and field, and served as a team captain. Gulley received his master's degree from Baylor in 1985. He has two sons, Taylor and Austin.