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CEDAR CITY - 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist, seven-time national champion and 19-time All-American Kelly Willie became SUU's new track and field assistant coach Tuesday.
The position's vacancy resulted from the resignation of former assistant coach Jeramie Murray, who resigned this year to care for his ill grandfather.
Willie said he found the job posting on Google.
"I saw (the job) as a great opportunity to develop a great sprint program," he said.
Willie said he looks forward to working at SUU because of the great track facility and he likes what head coach Eric Houle has done already with the T-Bird track program.
"The city is great and people are very welcoming," Willie said. "It's a great opportunity to be a sprint coach at the best university in Utah."
He said his goal as a coach is to develop the best sprint program in the state.
"Not only (will it be) the best program at the university but in all of Utah as well," Willie said.
Willie said he will begin work at SUU officially on Nov. 8.
"I want to hit the ground running," he said.
"I'm excited and look forward to meet the rest of the (athletes). I want to help them on an individual level and as a team to help them to be successful," Willie said.
Willie, 29, is a 2006 Louisiana State University graduate in communication studies, according to his biography at LSUsports.net.
He is a Houston native and his track career successes range from as early as 2002 when he was named Nike Athlete of the Year after he hit a recorded fourth fastest high school indoor 400-meter time of 47.49 seconds.
Willie went on to win the state championships his senior year at Sterling High School with a time of 45.52.
As a freshman at LSU, he captured three national titles as part of the 4X400-meter relay team, according to his biography.
In 2004, Willie won gold at the Olympics in Athens, Greece as part of the US 4X400-meter relay team with an individual split time of 44.65 and team time of 2:59.30.
According to his biography, Willie was a huge asset to LSU's national and regional titles from 2003-2006.
In 2005, Willie won his fourth NCAA title in the 4X400-meter relay, among other honors including four All-American honors.
His career in 2006 was filled with five All-American honors, individual wins in the 400-meter, 100 and 200-meter runs as well as 4X400 and 4X100-meter relays at meets such as Texas Relays, Penn Relays, SEC Championships, NCAA Mideast Regionals and more.
Houle said he had 60 applicants for the job position. He narrowed it down to three with Willie as one of them.
"As we know, he has very good credentials," he said. "But being a great athlete doesn't mean you're a great coach so I had to meet him to know if he would qualify for both."
Houle said when he met Willie Tuesday, he was impressed to say he "shows he has that ability to be a great coach with his athletic ability."
"He's just so excited about the opportunity to coach here," he said. "He's been everywhere in the world so he will have a lot of experience to bring to the table."
Houle said SUU already had a great academic and athletic program and the fact that applicants like Willie were attracted to the university proves how much better it can become.
"He is going to make the sprint program better and with us going into Big Sky Conference next year this will set the stage for recruiting and managing the sprint program for that next step," he said. "His call is to build on the what great sprint program we have already."
Houle said with Willie as the sprint coach he has no doubt SUU will have the best team in conference as well as Utah.
Brent Springall, a graduate coach in charge of jumps and multis, said he thought Wille is "down to earth and exciting to be around" and the athletes already love him.
"He will make a great addition to our program in more ways than one," Springall said.
Senior hurdler Jasmine Paicely said she met Willie Tuesday as well.
"He has a lot of experience on the track and I feel he will help us and push us in ways we don't know we can do," Paicely said.
Freshman hurdler Julia Boswell said she's excited for Willie to be at SUU.
"Hearing his personal records and accomplishments makes me feel privleged to be in his presence," Boswell said. "We love having him on our team. This is very big for SUU to have someone at his level come to coach."
Senior hurdler Tim Dalene said having Willie as a coach will help him and his performance and confidence.
Dalene said Willie will also be a great asset for the team going into the Big Sky Conference.
"We are in a tough conference and we are going into an even tougher one so next year coach Willie is going to be a big factor in our team's success," he said.
Senior distance runner Cameron Levins said although Willie will not be working with him, he knows he will be a great influence.
"I'm excited to see what he will do with the sprinters we have," Levins said.
