Ranard Adkison

Assistant Coach
Office: (417) 328-1483
Fax: (417) 328-2009
Email: radkison@sbuniv.edu

Ranard Adkison is in his fifth season as assistant coach for the SBU men's and women's track and field teams. Adkison brings an enthusiastic and energetic coaching style to SBU. Working primarily with the sprinters, hurdlers, jumpers, and relays, he has been instrumental in developing 13 all-conference performers.

During the 2006-07 campaign, Adkison aided in the development of SBU’s key sprinters which included the MIAA Outdoor 400 meter hurdles runner-up Jennifer Gillespie. In her first year competing in the event, Gillespie ranked as high as #19 on the national list. In addition, the sprint squads garnered ten indoor and outdoor school records.

The 2007-08 season proved to be another remarkable year for the sprinters as they improved on six school records from the previous year and added three additional marks. Gillespie competed at the NCAA Outdoor National Championship in the 400-meter hurdles, becoming the first SBU female sprinter to qualify for nationals in the school’s history.

The success of SBU sprinters and jumpers continued in 2008-09. Sarah Bowling was an All-American in the triple jump for both indoor and outdoor seasons. Kyle Grant competed at nationals in the outdoor high jump while Jenny Blair earned two All-MIAA honors in sprints.

"I continually look forward to assisting Corey McElhaney and the rest of the coaching staff in developing a winning program at the conference and national levels," Adkison stated. "At the same time we recognize that winning is not the single measure of success. We work to boost school and community interest in the team, to make our program more attractive to prospective student-athletes and to improve the performances of each individual and the team as a whole throughout the season." He added, "Through track and field and the associated training, we seek to develop skills and a work ethic among our athletes that can be transferred to activities off the track."

Adkison entered the coaching ranks following a standout athletic career at Long Island University - Brooklyn. He was a three-time Division I Northeast Conference champion as a member of the sprint team. Adkison set four school records and a conference record while in Brooklyn, N.Y. He earned his bachelor's degree in media arts (film production) from Long Island University in 2004 and his master's in education from Southwest Baptist University in 2007.