THE ROSS FILE

Personal Information

Full Name: Randolph Duane Ross
Born: Dec. 5, 1972
Hometown: Dallas, North Carolina
High School: North Gaston High School
College: Clemson, 1996

Coaching Experience

2022-present:
Tennessee, Head Coach/Director of Track & Field
2012-22:
North Carolina A&T, Director of Track & Field
2008-12:
Methodist University (DIII), Head Coach
1996:
Clemson, Volunteer Assistant Coach

Team Championships (20)

Men's Indoor Championships: 4
MEAC: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Men's Outdoor Championships: 4
MEAC: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021
Men's Cross Country Championships: 1
MEAC: 2018
Women's Indoor Championships: 6
Big South: 2022
MEAC: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Mason-Dixon: 2011
Women's Outdoor Championships: 5
MEAC: 2017, 2019, 2021
Mason-Dixon: 2011, 2012

Coaching Honors

2022 USTFCCCA Men's Outdoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year
2022 USTFCCCA Men's Indoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year
2021 USTFCCCA Men's Outdoor Co-National Coach of the Year
2021 USTFCCCA Men's Outdoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year
2021 USTFCCCA Women's Outdoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year
2020 USTFCCCA Men's Indoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year
2019 USTFCCCA Men's Outdoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year
2019 USTFCCCA Women's Outdoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year
2019 USTFCCCA Women's Indoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year
2012 Mason Dixon Conference Outdoor Coach of the Year
2012 USTFCCCA Women's Indoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year (Div. III)
2011 Mason Dixon Conference Outdoor Coach of the Year
2011 USTFCCCA Women's Outdoor Southeast Region Coach of the Year (Div. III)
2011 Mason Dixon Conference Indoor Coach of the Year

Competitive Experience

2004:
USA Track & Field Olympian (Athens)
1996-2006:
Professional (Nike) Track
1991-95:
Clemson Student-Athlete

Competitive Highlights

2004 USA Track & Field Olympian
1999 IAAF World Outdoor Championships Bronze Medalist (110m Hurdles)
1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships (fourth, 60m Hurdles)
1999 IAAF Grand Prix Final (fourth, 60m Hurdles)
1999 USA Indoor Championships (second, 60m Hurdles)
1998 USA Indoor Championships (first, 60m Hurdles)
1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships (fourth, 60m Hurdles)
1994-95 Clemson Athlete of the Year
1995 NCAA Outdoor Champion (110m Hurdles)
Seven-time All-American
Five-time ACC Champion
1990 North Carolina (NCHSAA) State Champion (110m Hurdles)

Updated: December 2024

Olympians Coached: 7
- Randolph Ross Jr. (United States, Men's 4x400m Relay)
- Trevor Stewart (United States, Men's 4x400m Relay / 4x400m Mixed Relay)
- Clement Ducos (France, Men's 400m Hurdles)
- Davonte Howell (Cayman Islands, Men's 100m)
- Joella Lloyd (Antigua & Barbuda, Women's 100m)
- Charisma Taylor (Bahamas, Women's 100m Hurdles / Triple Jump)
- Javonya Valcourt (Bahamas, 4x400m Mixed Relay)
  - Olympic Gold Medals: 2
  - Olympic Bronze Medals: 1
Individual/Relay NCAA Championships: 19
- Men's Indoor: 4 | Women's Indoor: 3
- Men's Outdoor: 3 | Women's Outdoor: 9
All-Americans: 73 (combining for 214 All-America honors)
- Men: 41 (118) | Women: 32 (96)
Individual/Relay DI Conference Championships: 206
- Men's Indoor: 42 | Men's Outdoor: 62
- Women's Indoor: 43 | Women's Outdoor: 59

Ross Coaching Breakdown (PDF)
Ross Fact Sheet (PDF)

Having built a widely-respected reputation among the worldwide track & field community, 1995 NCAA champion, 2004 Olympian and 2021 Co-National Coach of the Year Duane Ross was appointed to oversee Tennessee's combined men’s and women’s program as Head Coach and Director of Track & Field on May 24, 2022.

The 2024-25 season will mark Ross' third year on Rocky Top after 10 years leading the charge at North Carolina A&T. The Dallas, North Carolina, native has guided collegiate athletes to 214 All-America honors, 19 individual/relay NCAA championships, eight top-10 NCAA team finishes and 206 individual/relay Division I conference titles over the course of his coaching career.

2023-24 — YEAR TWO ON ROCKY TOP

In Tennessee’s second season under Ross, the Vols and Lady Vols totaled 17 school records, 39 All-America honors and 12 SEC medals over the course of the indoor and outdoor seasons. The women’s squad was ranked as high as No. 6 nationally during the regular indoor season, while the men ascended to No. 11 during the outdoor campaign.

Senior sprint star Jacious Sears headlined the 2023-24 indoor season for Tennessee individually, taking silver in the SEC 60-meter final and earning a pair of top-five finishes in the 60-meter (4th) and 200-meter (5th) at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston. Adding in the Lady Vol 4x400-meter relay squad’s fifth-place finish in a school-record 3:29.79, UT tied for No. 17 in the women’s standings for their second-consecutive top-20 finish at the indoor national meet – breaking that threshold in each of the last three years for the first time since 2009-11.

Sears carried momentum into the outdoor season with one of the fastest sprinting displays in NCAA history at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational on April 13. The Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, product threw down a blistering time of 10.77 seconds in the 100-meter dash, the second-fastest performance in collegiate history behind reigning world champion Sha’Carri Richardson’s record of 10.75 set in 2019. With a legal tailwind of +1.6 m/s, Sears' performance shattered her own school record and currently ranks No. 15 on the world all-time list and No. 7 on the U.S. all-time list.

At the SEC Outdoor Championships, the Lady Vol relay squads asserted their dominance with a pair of conference titles in the 4x100- and 4x400-meter finals. Sears, Dennisha Page, DaJour Miles and Joella Lloyd got the baton around the oval in 42.42 seconds for Tennessee’s first SEC gold in the women’s 4x100 since 1984, while the 4x400 quartet of Javonya Valcourt, Kyla Robinson-Hubbard, Miles and Brianna White capped the meet with a winning mark of 3:24.44. Both performances were school records and collegiate leading marks at the time of the event, and UT became the first school since 2014 to sweep relay titles at the SEC Outdoor Championships.

The Lady Vols’ 2024 campaign wrapped up in Eugene, Oregon, at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The 4x400-meter relay broke their own school record once again, taking second in the NCAA Outdoor Championship final with a time of 3:23.32, and White earned First Team All-America honors in the 400-meter dash with an eighth-place finish in 50.79 seconds.

On the men’s side, sophomore standout T’Mars McCallum held the fastest time in the country in the 100-meter dash up until the final weekend of the outdoor season. His mark of 9.94 seconds was the No. 2 mark in school history behind VFL Christian Coleman and he became just the sixth sophomore in collegiate history to run 9.95 or faster with a legal tailwind (+2.0 m/s).

Tennessee also touted a trio of remarkable 400-meter hurdlers in Clement Ducos, Rasheeme Griffith and Ja’Kwan Hale – who each rounded out their collegiate careers during the 2024 campaign. Ducos went out with the UT school record in the event at 48.26 seconds, while Griffith and Hale each secured medals at the conference meet with their second- and third- place finishes. All three were tabbed USTFCCCA All-Americans in the event at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, with Hale leading the way as he took seventh in the final.

The men’s 4x400-meter relay was notably strong during the 2023-24 indoor and outdoor seasons, earning First Team All-America status at both NCAA Championship finals. In the last race of the campaign, Emmanuel Bynum, Christian Parker, Hale and Griffith completed the relay in a school record time of 3:01.22 to place fifth in the nation.

Under the direction of Ross, the Vols and Lady Vols finished 16th and 10th, respectively, in the 2023-24 NCAA Division I Program of the Year standings, which are calculated by combining postseason results from each national championship event in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. This year marks the first time UT has placed in the top-20 on both sides since the award’s inception in 2008-09.

2022-23 — THE ROSS ERA BEGINS

In Tennessee's first year under Ross' leadership, the Vols and Lady Vols totaled 15 school records, 32 All-America honors and 22 SEC medals over the course of the indoor and outdoor seasons. The Big Orange men and women secured top five finishes at both SEC competitions for the first time since 2008, with the Vols placing fifth and third and the Lady Vols placing third and fifth in the team standings at the indoor and outdoor conference meets, respectively.

Ross guided the Lady Vol track & field squads to a pair of top-10 finishes at both national meets for the first time since 2009, placing seventh at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March and tying for 10th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships earlier this month.

In the USTFCCCA's Division I Program of the Year standings released earlier this month, the men of Tennessee were tabbed No. 9 when combining postseason results from cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. The ranking marked the highest position for UT on the list since the award's inception in 2008-09.

"Our first year here in Knoxville has been special, and we're just getting started," Ross said. "The support from Danny White, Marcus Hilliard and the Tennessee administration has been nothing short of incredible. With a strong foundation in place, we are committed to continue building this program into a national championship contender."

Regarded for his ability to develop sprinters and hurdlers, Ross coached Jacious Sears to USTFCCCA South Region Track Athlete of the Year honors for the 2023 outdoor season. The Lady Vol speedster posted a team-high 11 points at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and won the SEC Commissioner's Trophy as the highest individual point scorer at the SEC Outdoor Championships. Sears tallied 20.5 points for Tennessee at the conference meet, which included winning the 100-meter dash in a school-record 10.96 seconds and earning silver in the 200-meter with a lifetime-best clocking of 22.45.

The Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, native also had a spectacular indoor season, claiming the SEC 60-meter title with a school record time of 7.11 and becoming the second fastest performer in collegiate history with a sprint of 7.04 seconds in prelims at the NCAA Championships. She finished third in the national 60-meter final with a time of 7.10, and her personal-best time of 7.04 stands as the fifth-fastest in the world in 2023.

Ross also guided Lady Vol standout Charisma Taylor to seven All-America certificates over the course of the 2023 indoor and outdoor seasons. The Nassau, Bahamas, native placed top five in the 60-meter hurdles, long jump and triple jump at indoor nationals, including a mark of 14.88 meters (48-10) in the triple jump that placed second and ranked as the No. 2 performance in collegiate history. Taylor earned four All-America honors at the outdoor national championships, placing top-16 in the 100-meter hurdles, long jump, triple jump and 4x100-meter relay and tallying eight points for the Big Oragne.

On the men's side, Dylan Jacobs stood out during the indoor season and was tabbed the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Year, the first Vol to earn that honor since Christian Coleman in 2017. The distance specialist from Orland Park, Illinois, established SEC records and all-time top five marks in the 3,000-meter (7:36.89) and 5,000-meter (13:11.01) during the regular season, won SEC titles in the 3k and DMR and capped his historic campaign with a 5k national title in Albuquerque.

Vol graduate students Devon Brooks and Jacobs locked up outdoor conference titles in the men's 110-meter hurdles and 5,000-meter, respectively, leading the squad to a third-place finish in the team standings with 87 points at the SEC Outdoor Championships.

At the outdoor national meet, senior Emmanuel Bynum stood out with a third-place finish in the 400-meter dash with his lifetime-best 44.49 second clocking. Adding scoring performances in the 400-meter hurdles from Rasheeme Griffith (49.17, 5th) and the 110-meter hurdles from Rasheem Brown (13.53, 8th), Tennessee finished 22nd nationally with 11 points.

In June of 2023, Ross agrred to a contract extension that runs through the 2027-28 athletic season.

ROSS TO ROCKY TOP

A native of Dallas, North Carolina, who became an NCAA champion hurdler and seven-time All-American at Clemson in the 1990s, Ross oversaw the track & field and cross country programs at North Carolina A&T from 2012-22. During the 2022 indoor season, his men’s team earned the No. 1 indoor national ranking.

Ross made his transition to Tennessee following the completion of North Carolina A&T’s 2022 NCAA outdoor season, during which 25 Aggies student-athletes—12 women and 13 men—competed in NCAA championship events, combining for four All-American awards.

“When researching the best track & field coaches in the world today, it doesn’t take long to find the name Duane Ross,” Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White said. “He’s built a profile that allows him to be incredibly selective in choosing his next move. Thankfully for us, the University of Tennessee has a track & field program with an extraordinary history of national championship teams, individuals and dozens of Olympians. Finding a coach with commensurate credentials was our priority, and Duane Ross is that coach.

“Tennessee track & field has been all about greatness for most of its history—both men’s and women’s. Duane knows what that takes and is poised to restore our program to consistent, elite-level achievement. Fitting for a hurdler, Duane has a unique personal journey marked by adversity, accountability and inspiring bounce-back. His experience and empathy resonate with young people, and the results speak for themselves.”

Ross led the North Carolina A&T men to a third-place finish at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships, resulting in co-National Coach of the Year honors. The Aggies men took it a step further in March 2022 when they posted a second-place team finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships—the best-ever finish by an HBCU program.

North Carolina A&T's ninth-place finish at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships capped Ross's tenure there with nine total top-10 team finishes at either the NCAA indoor or outdoor meets.

“I’ve had the unique opportunity to watch and experience the athletic and coaching growth of Duane Ross,” Tennessee track legend Justin Gatlin said. “I have had the honor of being an Olympic teammate and training partner with Duane. I truly believe that to be great at something, you need to be able to experience it firsthand, and that is a big reason why Coach Ross has been a truly successful athlete and coach. Whatever he touches will be successful.”

Having built a world-class reputation for elite performance development, Ross has earned 10 United States Track & Field Cross and Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Region Coach of the Year honors.

Under his leadership, the Aggies were dominant in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and, more recently, Big South Conference track & field, capturing 17 team conference championships—four men’s indoor titles, five women’s indoor titles, four men’s outdoor titles, three women’s outdoor titles and one men’s cross-country title.

From 2017 through 2020, North Carolina A&T won four consecutive MEAC indoor championships in both men’s and women's track & field.

And in 2021, the Aggies pulled off an impressive double in the men’s 4x100-meter relay, winning conference championships at both the indoor and outdoor meets.

In addition to regularly stepping to the top of the podium at conference championship meets, Ross’s student-athletes also have claimed multiple NCAA crowns. At the 2022 NCAA indoor meet, his son, Tokyo Olympian Randolph Ross Jr. (400m), and sophomore Javonte Harding (200m) won individual national championships, while freshman Leonard Mustari finished second in the 60-meter hurdles.

At the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Ross coached his son to a national crown in the 400 meters, with the third-fastest time in collegiate history (43.85). At those same championships, A&T women’s standout Cambrea Sturgis won NCAA titles in both the 100- and 200-meter sprints.

North Carolina A&T was the only school in the country to place its men’s and women’s squads in the top five of the final team standings at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships, as the women tied for fourth.

North Carolina A&T’s men’s 4x400-meter relay squad won the 2021 NCAA titles at both the indoor and outdoor championships. And in 2019, women’s phenom Kayla White won the NCAA indoor title in the 200-meter sprint and also finished second in that meet’s 60-meter hurdles before being named the 2019 NCAA Division I Indoor Female Track Athlete of the Year.

His pupils also have gone on to star on the worldwide stage. Randolph Ross Jr. and Trevor Stewart both won OIympic gold in Tokyo as part of the United States' men's 4x400-meter relay. Stewart added a bronze medal in Tokyo in the mixed relay. Christopher Belcher was a 100-meter sprint semifinalist at the 2017 World Outdoor Championships, and he and Rodney Rowe also made the U.S. team for the 2019 World Outdoor Championships. And in 2022, North Carolina A&T freshman hurdler Leonard Mustari tied the world junior record in the 55-meter hurdles (7.55; Feb. 11, 2022).

Prior to taking over the track & field programs at North Carolina A&T, Ross was the director of track & field at Division III Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina, for five seasons.

A North Carolina state champion hurdler at North Gaston High School, Ross competed collegiately at Clemson. Starring for the Tigers, he earned seven All-America certificates, was a five-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion and won a national title in the 110-meter hurdles (13.32) at the 1995 NCAA Outdoor Championships, hosted at Tennessee’s Tom Black Track.

Selected as Clemson’s 1994-95 Athlete of the Year, Ross was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014.

As a Nike professional track & field athlete, Ross competed internationally for close to a decade and participated in multiple IAAF World Championships. He made the USA Track & Field Olympic team in 2004 and competed in the 110-meter hurdles at that year’s Summer Olympiad in Athens, Greece.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in Financial Management from Clemson in 1996 and later completed a master’s degree in Sport Management and Physical Education from Aspen University in 2016.

NCAA DIVISION I CHAMPIONSHIPS | TOP-25 TEAM FINISHES (14)

2017 - North Carolina A&T - T-14th, NCAA Outdoor Championships (Men’s)
2019 - North Carolina A&T - T-7th, NCAA Indoor Championships (Women’s)
2019 - North Carolina A&T - T-15th, NCAA Outdoor Championships (Men’s)
2019 - North Carolina A&T - 15th, NCAA Outdoor Championships (Women’s)
2021 - North Carolina A&T - 5th, NCAA Indoor Championships (Men’s)
2021 - North Carolina A&T - 3rd, NCAA Outdoor Championships (Men’s)
2021 - North Carolina A&T - T-4th, NCAA Outdoor Championships (Women’s)
2022 - North Carolina A&T - 2nd, NCAA Indoor Championships (Men’s)
2022 - North Carolina A&T - T-9th, NCAA Outdoor Championships (Men's)
2023 - Tennessee - 11th, NCAA Indoor Championships (Men's)
2023 - Tennessee - t-7th, NCAA Indoor Championships (Women's)
2023 - Tennessee - t-22nd, NCAA Outdoor Championships (Men's)
2023 - Tennessee - t-10th, NCAA Outdoor Championships (Women's)
2024 - Tennessee - t-17th, NCAA Indoor Championships (Women's)