The tremendous scope of Vin Lananna’s accomplishments has established him as one of the premier leaders in track and field in the United States. Named Associate Athletic Director at the University of Oregon in July 2005, Lananna has been guiding a vision for the Oregon track and field program and Historic Hayward Field as the center of track and field in the country.

During the 2008-09 academic year, the Men and Women of Oregon wrote one of the most memorable chapters in the history of all collegiate track and field. Both programs were honored as the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s national programs of the year.

The Men of Oregon won their second straight NCAA Cross Country Championship, captured their first-ever NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship and tied for second at the NCAA Outdoor meet, coming up just two points shy of a magical triple crown. Along the way, the men won their third straight Pac-10 titles in both track and cross country, and produced nine NCAA event champions, six Pac-10 individual champions and 23 All-America awards.

For the seventh time in his career, Lananna was named NCAA Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year.

Lananna also presided over perhaps the best individual season in the history of men’s collegiate distance running. Galen Rupp became the first person ever to win six distance races during the same academic year. Rupp was the 2008 NCAA individual cross country champion, the 2009 NCAA Indoor 3,000 and 5,000 meter champion, the 2009 NCAA Outdoor 5,000 and 10,000 meter champion, and anchored Oregon’s winning Indoor distance medley relay team. He was also the Pac-10 cross country medalist and won the league’s 10,000 meter title and capped his collegiate career by winning the title at the USA Track and Field Championships at Historic Hayward Field. He was named the USTFCCCA and Pac-10 Division I men’s track athlete of the year and was also honored as the NCAA Division I Academic All-American of the Year for all sports.

The women’s story was just as impressive. The Ducks placed second at the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships for the second year in a row, had their best-ever showing at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships by tying for ninth, and then posted their best finish in a quarter century at the NCAA Outdoor Championships by capturing the silver trophy. The women also won their first Pac-10 track title in 17 years and took second again in cross country. Oregon boasted a pair of NCAA individual champions, seven Pac-10 event champions and 21 All-America awards.

The 2008-09 season came on the heels of a banner year for Oregon with the wildly successful Eugene 08 Olympic Trials following the tremendous growth of both the men’s and women’s programs during the spring outdoor season.

Hosting the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials was a giant leap forward in Lananna’s grand plan for Track Town, USA, as a pair of UO student-athletes qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics, Andrew Wheating in the men’s 800 meters and Rupp in the 10,000. However, it served only as a benchmark for the ambitious visionary who has recaptured the glory of Oregon’s proud running tradition both in terms of the teams’ performance on the track, as well his leadership in the running community of Eugene.

The 2007-08 season marked an ascension back to the top of the collegiate running world for both programs. The men won the NCAA championship in cross country and took Pac-10 team titles in both the track & field and cross country seasons. The women’s program continued its resurgence as well, with runner-up finishes at both the NCAA and Pac-10 Championships in cross country, and a third-place showing at the Pac-10 meet on the track. Lananna was recognized as the NCAA Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year. The two programs combined for 11 All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Lananna has also led the establishment of a new post-collegiate club, the Oregon Track Club Elite, that provides a new opportunity for American middle distance/distance athletes to train with the goal of being competitive on the world stage. Three members of OTC Elite, Nick Symmonds, Christian Smith and Nicole Teter, made the 2008 Olympics.

The 2006-07 season exemplified Lananna’s ability to extend the reputation of the University of Oregon, Hayward Field and Eugene as the nation’s most vibrant setting for collegiate track and field. On the track, the Ducks celebrated a Pac-10 men’s team crown as UO individuals combined for five victories. The Duck women added two Pac-10 individual track and field titles and collected five All-America honors to go along with seven combined men’s indoor and outdoor honors.

Just a few months after his arrival in July 2005, Lananna’s leadership helped the University of Oregon and the City of Eugene win the right to host the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials, something the University again won the right to do in 2012, and the 2006 outdoor track and field season featured more than a doubling of season ticket holders, home meet attendance records, and a surge of enthusiasm for the sport throughout the campus community, city, and state. During the indoor and outdoor seasons, Oregon men and women claimed three individual NCAA championships and 25 All-America awards. In July 2006, a two-year renovation began to prepare Historic Hayward Field to host the most exciting meets in the country.

Lananna is experienced as both an administrator and a coach at the highest levels. Prior to his arrival at Oregon, Lananna served as athletic director at Oberlin College in Ohio. At the internationally-renowned liberal arts institution, he led the revitalization and reorganization of the department of athletics and physical education. His efforts to improve fundraising and enhance the department’s resources allowed Oberlin to increase staffing and upgrade facilities, including the construction of a new stadium for soccer, lacrosse, and track and field.

Renowned for his ability to develop talent, Lananna’s reputation as an exceptional coach was secured during his tenure as director of track and field at Stanford University from 1992 to 2003. In his time at Stanford, Lananna built one of the nation’s elite programs. His cross country and track and field teams claimed five NCAA team championships, 35 top-10 NCAA finishes, and 22 NCAA individual titles. The Cardinal men and women also won 17 Pacific-10 Conference team titles and 45 individual conference crowns in addition to 15 West Regional cross country championships. His athletes excelled in national and international competition, representing Team USA at the Olympic Games and the IAAF World Championships.

At Stanford, Lananna received three NCAA Coach of the Year cross country honors, nine NCAA West Region Cross Country Coach of the Year awards, 10 Pacific-10 Cross Country Coach of the Year honors, and two Pacific-10 Track and Field Coach of the Year awards. He also served on the NCAA Track and Field Committee from 2001-03. In 2004, Lananna traveled to Greece as an assistant coach for Team USA at the Olympic Games in Athens. He has also served as an assistant coach at the 1999 Track and Field World Championships and as head coach in the 1990 and 1996 World Championships and 1994 World Junior Championships in cross country.

Lananna’s leadership and vision for the future of track and field positioned Stanford as a destination for elite collegiate and post-collegiate competition. Athletes from across the country came to “The Farm” to participate in high performance invitationals designed to optimize athletic performance. His commitment to advancing the sport also led to the creation of a post-collegiate club team based at Stanford, and the University hosted the 2002 and 2003 USA Outdoor Championships and an annual IAAF Grand Prix meet.

Lananna arrived at Stanford after serving as assistant athletic director and head coach for cross country and track and field at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.

From 1980 until 1992, his men’s and women’s cross country teams posted a combined seven NCAA top-20 finishes—including men’s runner-up efforts in 1986 and 1987—and 37 combined All-America cross country and track and field awards. The men’s team won 13 Heptagonal League titles and the women had six runner-up finishes. In recognition of the teams’ accomplishments, he was named the 1986 NCAA Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year and was a seven- time New England Region Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year and a four-time New England Track and Field Coach of the Year.

His coaching career began in 1975 when Lananna was named head coach of cross country at his alma mater, C.W. Post in Greenvale, NY. As an athlete (1971-75), he ran cross country and track and field and was captain of the 1974 team that finished fourth in the NCAA Division II Championships. He received his master’s of arts degree from Long Island University in 1989.

Lananna and his wife, Elizabeth, reside in Eugene, Oregon. Their sons Brian and Scott are recent graduates of Dartmouth College.

Coaching Honors

NCAA Cross Country Coach of the Year
1986, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2008

NCAA West Region Coach of the Year
1994 (W), 1995 (M&W), 1996 (M&W),
1997 (M), 1998 (M), 1999 (M), 2002 (M&W),
2006 (M), 2007 (M), 2008 (M)

Pac-10 Cross Country Coach of the Year
1993 (W), 1994( W), 1996 (M&W),
1997 (M&W),  2000 (M), 2001 (M),
2002 (M&W), 2006 (M),
2007 (M), 2008 (M), 2008 (M)

Pac-10 Track & Field Coach of the Year
2000 (M), 2001 (M), 2007 (M), 2009 (M&W)

USA Team Head Coach
1990 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
1996 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

USA Junior Team Head Coach
1994 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

USA Team Assistant Coach
1999 IAAF World Track and Field Championships
2004 Olympic Games

Co-Chair
2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials
2009 USA Track & Field Championships

Vin Lananna Has Guided Teams to:

8 NCAA Team
Championships
Men’s Cross Country
1996, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2008
Women’s Cross Country
1996
Men’s Indoor Track and Field
2009
Men’s Outdoor Track and Field
2000

36 Conference Team Championships
Men’s Cross Country
1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008
Women’s Cross Country
1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
Men’s Track and Field
1998, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2001, 2002,2007, 2008, 2009
Women’s Track and Field
2009

Vin Lananna Has Guided Athletes to:

Five Olympic Teams
800 Meters (2008)
1,500 Meters (2000, 2004)
5,000 Meters (2000)
10,000 Meters (2008)
Marathon (1992, 1996)

Six World Championship Teams
5,000 Meters (2003, 2005)
10,000 Meters (1999, 2007, 2009)
Marathon (1997)

26 NCAA Event Titles
Cross Country 2008 (M)
800 Meters 2006 (W), 2009 (M)
1,500 Meters 2000 (M), 2002 (M), 2003 (M)
Mile 2000 (M)
3,000 Meters 1998 (W), 2002 (W), 2009 (M)
5,000 Meters 1998 (M), 1999 (M), 2000 (M), 2001 (M&W), 2002 (W), 2003 (W), 2009i (M), 2009 (M)
10,000 Meters 1998 (M), 1999 (M), 2000 (M), 2003 (W), 2009 (M)
Distance Medley Relay 2000 (M&W), 2001 (M), 2009 (M)