Jody Stewart enters his sixth year as Texas State's Director of Track and Field/Cross Country. In his first five seasons at the helm, the Bobcats have won eight Sun Belt Conference Championships, including a women’s Triple Crown in 2017-18. Stewart has been named the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year during each of the championship seasons and led the women’s program to its highest point total as a team during the 2018 Sun Belt Indoor Championship. The eight conference championships are tied for the most league titles under one head coach in program history.
Stewart has coached 15 All-Americans, 65 Sun Belt Conference champions, 70 NCAA First Round qualifiers, 184 all-conference honorees and 26 school record holders. The Bobcats Cross Country and Track and Field program has also excelled academically under Stewart, collecting 17 USTFCCCA All-Academic individual honors.
In the 2020 shortened season, the Bobcats featured the Sun Belt’s Women’s Indoor Most Outstanding Track Performer and the Women’s Most Outstanding Field Performer, and 10 All-Sun Belt Conference awards.
In 2018-19, Texas State featured 48 All-Sun Belt Conference performers, 13 individual conference champions, nine specialty award winners. Stewart was named the Sun Belt Conference Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year after leading the Bobcats to their fourth straight women’s indoor title and the Sun Belt Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year after leading the men’s team to their first Sun Belt Outdoor championship.
In the 2018 cross country season, the Bobcat women finished as the runner-up, scoring 46 points, one-point shy from the title, and the men placed fifth. Texas State had six All-Sun Belt selections including Leslie Romero, who became the first woman to be crowned the cross country individual champion since 1994. Romero led the charge in conference specialty awards by being named the runner and newcomer of the year in addition to being placed on the first-team. Joseph Meade was also named to the first-team on the men’s side.
The Bobcat women won their third consecutive Indoor Sun Belt Conference Championship behind 128 points to claim their fourth indoor league title. The men scored 119 points to finish third. Between both teams, the Bobcats had 21 All-Sun Belt selections, six school records and four individual conference champions and four specialty awards. Ben Collerton was named the men’s Most Outstanding Field Performer, Tramesha Hardy was selected as the Most Outstanding Track Performer for the third consecutive year, Leslie Romero won Newcomer of the Year and coach Stewart was named the women’s Coach of the Year.
The Bobcat men won their first Sun Belt outdoor title with 122.5 points. The title marks the first conference outdoor championship since 2004. The women finished just short of their third consecutive outdoor championship after finishing as the runner-up with 128 points. The two squads had 21 Al-Sun Belt selections, 11 NCAA Regional qualifiers, eight individual conference champions and two newly established school records. Tramesha Hardy was selected as the Sun Belt Conference Most Outstanding Track Performer, T’Mond Johnson was named the Most Outstanding Field Performer, and coach Stewart won his eighth Sun Belt Coach of the Year award.
In the 2017-18 season, Stewart captured the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year award three times in route to securing the triple crown, winning the women’s cross country, indoor and outdoor conference championships. Between the three seasons, the Bobcats produced three All-Americans, 20 Sun Belt Conference champions, 20 NCAA First Round qualifiers and 52 all-conference honorees.
| The Jody Stewart File |
| Coaching Highlights |
Stewart has coached
- World Championship Finalist
- NCAA Champion
- NCAA Collegiate Record Holder
- Australian National Champion
- Pan-American Games Medalist
- 2013 Bowerman Finalist
- Four Olympic Trial Qualifiers
- 45 NCAA All-Americans
- 49 NCAA Championship Qualifiers
- 128 NCAA First Round Qualifiers
- 2013 USTFCCCA Women's Track and Field Athlete of the Year
- 2013 Pac-12 Conference Athlete of the Year
- Multiple individual and relay conference champions |
| Coaching Experience |
| 2016-Pres. |
Director of Track & Field/Cross Country |
Texas State |
| 2012-15 |
Associate Head Coach |
Stanford |
| 2010-12 |
Assistant Track & Field Coach |
Georgetown |
| 2008-10 |
Assistant Track & Field Coach |
Bowling Green State |
| 2008 |
Assistant Track & Field Coach |
Northwood (Mich.) |
| 2006-08 |
Volunteer Assistant Track & Field Coach |
Ashland (Ohio) |
| Education |
| 2008 |
Master of Education |
Cleveland State |
| 2006 |
Bachelor of Science in Education |
Ashland (Ohio) |
| Athletic Experience |
| 2002-06 |
Track and Field |
Ashland (Ohio) |
|
- Four-time NCAA Division II All-American
- Four-time conference champion
- 2003 Conference Most Valuable Performer
- Four-time Academic All-American |
The 2017-18 season began with the women’s cross country team making a historic leap at the Sun Belt Conference meet. After finishing eighth the year prior, the Bobcat women claimed their first league title and first cross country championship since 1994. Both McKynzie King and Devina Schneider earned All-Sun Belt First Team honors, the first for the program since joining the league. Also making an all-conference team were Kendra Long and Nikki Sanchez. Sanchez was also tabbed freshman of the year. On the men’s side, Joseph Meade and Logan Pittdaman were named to the All-Sun Belt Second Team and Noe Belmares claiming third-team honors. The men placed third at the Sun Belt Conference Championships and then finished fifth at the NCAA South Central Regional with four Bobcats placing in the top 35.
For the second straight year, the women’s indoor track and field team claimed the SBC Indoor Championship. The team did so in dominating fashion, tallying a school record 166 points. Pacing the team on the track was Tramesha Hardy with 32.5 points after winning four gold medals to earn the women’s meet high scorer for the second year in-a-row. Her performance saw her be named the SBC Women’s Most Outstanding Indoor Track Athlete of the Year. Picking up co-Women’s Most Outstanding Field Athlete of the Year was Chelsie Decoud after breaking the conference record in the high jump at 1.88m (6-2).
Decoud would go on to earn First Team Indoor All-American honors with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Division I Championships. She was the first Bobcat high jumper to compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships meet since 2009 and first to become an All-American since 2003.
Competing on their own track, the women would claim the Sun Belt Outdoor Championship by one point which was decided in the final race (4x400m relay). The team completed the Triple Crown for the first time in program history and was the first by a women’s SBC program since 2011. After the meet, Hardy was awarded the conference’s Most Outstanding Women’s Outdoor Track Performer after winning two gold and two silver medals at the SBC meet. In addition to Hardy, the women's team swept the 2017 post season awards from the Sun Belt Conference with Devina Schneider, the women’s top scorer with 24 points, being named the Freshman and Newcomer of the Year, Julie Lang was tabbed the Most Outstanding Field Athlete, and coach Stewart won the Coach of the Year award for the women.
In Stewart’s first complete season from start to finish, the Bobcats won two Sun Belt Conference Championships and seven specialty awards, including Stewart’s two conference Coach of the Year awards.
In the 2016 cross country season, the men’s team placed third at the Sun Belt Conference Championships and eighth at the NCAA South Central Regionals. Jose Angel Gonzalez, Joseph Meade and Joseph Pena all received All-SBC Second Team honors.
The women claimed their second Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championship (first in 2015) with 166 points, while the men were just short of a repeat, finishing as the runner-up. Eight individual champions were crowned with four of them on the women’s side across six events. The men and women 4x400-meter relay teams also walked away with gold medals Tramesha Hardy led the way on the women’s side with four gold medals (60m, 200m, 400m, 4x400-meter relay) and tallied 32.5 points. Hardy, the high point scorer of the meet, was tabbed the Most Outstanding Track Performer, and coach Stewart won the indoor women’s coach of the year award.
The Bobcat women then claimed its first outdoor Sun Belt Conference Championship title to make it the fifth time in the program history to win an indoor and outdoor title in the same year (2013, 2004, 2002, 1990). The women tallied 154.5 points and the men gathered 116 for a second-place finish. The women also swept the conference’s postseason specialty awards with Hardy winning the Most Outstanding Track Performer award, Julie Lange was named the Most Outstanding Field Performer, Devina Schneider was the meet top scorer with 24 points and was named the freshman and newcomer of the year, and finally, coach Stewart won his third Sun Belt Coach of the Year award.
For both sides, a total of 20 student-athletes qualified to compete at the NCAA West Preliminary meet, three of which advanced to the NCAA Championships in Chelsie Decoud (high jump), Mylana Hearn (triple jump), and T’Mond Johnson (shot put). They all three walked away with All-American honors.
Stewart hit the ground running at the helm by winning the 2016 Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championship on the men’s side, capturing his first Coach of the Year accolade. That year, Stewart produced six All-Americans, 12 Sun Belt Conference championships, 23 NCAA First Round qualifiers and 42 all-conference honorees in the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Capturing indoor conference titles were Chelsie Decoud (high jump), Aaron George (long jump), Tramesha Hardy (200m), De’Marcus Porter (400m), Antonisha Stewart (60m hurdles) and both the men’s and women’s 4x400m relay teams.
The outdoor SBC Championships saw De’Quad Binder (800m), Julie Lange (discuss), Decoud (high jump), Porter (400m), Stewart (100m hurdles) and both the men’s 4x100m and 4x400m relays win gold for the Bobcats.
Hardy recorded two strong performances at both conference meets to be named the SBC Women’s Most Outstanding Freshman for the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Texas State had 23 athletes qualify to compete at the NCAA First Round meet in 2016. Six qualified for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon with all earning All-American honors. Decoud led the way with first team accolades in the high jump. Mylana Hearn received second team honors in the triple jump and the foursome of Anthony Johnson, Dexter Lee, Lincoln Warren and Porter received honorable mention in the 4x400m relay.
Overall, five school records broken by Jordan Huckaby (hammer), Kelly Trevino (3000m steeplechase) Porter (60m), Stewart (60m hurdles) and distance medley relay squad of Noe Belmares, Tyrone Jackson, Kyle Denomme and Binder. The team also excelled in the classroom with seven Bobcats earning USTFCCCA All-Academic honors to lead all Sun Belt Conference schools in men (4), women (3) and total recipients.
On Monday, September 28, 2015, Stewart was named the Director of Track and Field/Cross Country at Texas State. As he assumes the first head coaching position in his career, Stewart’s previous success in recruiting and coaching is undeniable. As the associate head coach for track and field at Stanford the past three years, Stewart helped recruit the top men’s recruiting class in the NCAA in 2015 while the women’s class ranked fifth. In 2014, Stanford’s women’s class ranked third in the NCAA while the men were fifth, including the top sprint prospect in the nation and one of the top sprint classes in the country.
At Stanford, Stewart was in charge of sprints and hurdles. He coached a World Championship finalist, an NCAA Champion, an NCAA collegiate record-holder, an Australian National Champion, a Pan-American Games medalist, a 2013 Bowerman finalist, the 2013 USTFCCCA Women’s Track & Field Athlete of the Year and the 2013 PAC-12 Conference Athlete of the Year.
Before Stanford, Stewart spent three seasons at Georgetown where he was responsible for a resurgence in Hoya sprinting. He was also in charge of the sprints, hurdles and jumps at Bowling Green from 2008-2010.
The Columbus, Ohio native knows about national powers. In 2015, Stanford’s women’s track and field program was third among all NCAA Division I programs for the Terry Crawford Program of the Year Award. Both the men and women were top-20 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships while the women’s team placed eighth during the NCAA Indoor Championships. In 2014, the women’s program ranked second and the men’s program stood seventh among all NCAA Division I programs in the running for the prestigious Terry Crawford and John McDonnell Program of the Year awards.
At Georgetown in 2012, Stewart played a significant role in the women’s program winning the Big East Indoor Conference Championship and being recognized as the eighth best NCAA Division I program. In 2011, both the men’s and women’s track and field teams at Georgetown were ranked top 10 in the country in the prestigious program of the year awards.
Just last season, Stewart was able to propel the freshman duo of Olivia Baker and Daniel Brady to represent their respective countries during the 2015 Junior Pan-American Games. Baker won gold, representing team USA in the 1,600-meter relay and finished third at the US Junior National Championships in the 400-meter dash while demolishing the all-time Stanford freshman 400m record.
Brady represented team Canada in the 400m hurdles and 1,600m relay, earning silver and bronze respectively. Baker would go on to receive All-America honors in the 800m and 1,600m relay at the NCAA Championships. For Stewart, there were twelve all-time top 10 performances during the 2015 outdoor season. During the indoor season, Baker and Kristyn Williams both broke school records. Williams broke Stanford’s indoor 400m record while Baker broke the school’s record in the 600m.
Stewart was able to build on a strong 2014 season in which he coached Kori Carter to an NCAA Championship and collegiate record in the 400-meter hurdles. Her title and NCAA runner-up finish in the 100-meter hurdles helped lift her among the three finalists for The Bowerman, collegiate track and field’s highest honor, showcasing Stewart’s coaching abilities. In 2013, Carter ran the world’s fastest time three times in the 400m hurdles, culminating in her collegiate record of 53.21 at the NCAA Championships. Carter dropped her time by 3.49 seconds in the 400m hurdles and 0.23 in the 100m hurdles in just one year under Stewart’s tutelage.
In his first two seasons in Palo Alto, Stewart coached athletes to seven school records: Carter in three hurdle events with an 8.17 in the 60m hurdles, 12.73 in the 100m hurdles and 53.21 in the 400m hurdles; Steven Solomon in the men’s outdoor 400-meter dash (45.36) and indoor 500m (1:01.44); and Kristyn Williams in the indoor 400m (53.36) and 500m (1:10.82). Solomon went on to capture the 2014 Australian national championship and a berth on his country’s Commonwealth Games team. Williams, meanwhile, ran a 52.70 in the 400m, the third-fastest time in Stanford’s school history.
In 2012, Stewart coached four Georgetown athletes to Olympic trials qualifying marks. Both Amanda Kimbers and London Finley participated in the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials. Kimbers ran the 100 meters after achieving the automatic standard with a school-record 11.25. Finley competed in the Olympic trials after hitting the provisional mark of 56.67 in the 400m hurdles, also a school record. Finley achieved All-America honors in the 400-meter hurdles and won the Big East Championship with a conference-record time in the 400m hurdles.
Finley, Kimbers, Tenile Stoudenmire and Chelsea Cox ran the fastest outdoor 4x400m relay in 10 years at Georgetown. The quartet won the Big East title and went on to achieve second-team All-America honors. Kimbers set the school record in the 200m with a time of 23.28, and the sprints group had five athletes compete in the NCAA West Preliminary and eight who received All-Big East outdoor honors.
During the 2012 indoor season, the Georgetown women’s program won the Big East title and the coaching staff earned indoor staff of the year honors. The women’s 4x400m relay team captured their second consecutive conference indoor title. Kimbers broke a school record in the 60m dash and was one of eight athletes to receive All-Big East indoor honors.
Prior to his arrival at Georgetown, Stewart spent two seasons as the sprints, hurdles and jumps coach at Bowling Green State. Stewart recruited one of the top sprint classes in the Mid-American Conference, coached four top-10 all-time school performances and developed multiple MAC scorers. Stewart began his coaching career at his alma mater of Ashland (Ohio) University where he worked with the sprints, hurdles and jump groups. During that time, he coached an NCAA Division II hurdles All-American, three conference champions and multiple all-conference athletes and relay teams.
Stewart was a four-time NCAA Division II All-American at Ashland. He was a four-time Academic All-American and the 2003 conference Most Valuable Performer in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Graduating with a bachelor’s in health education in 2006, Stewart went on to earn his master’s in sports management from Cleveland State in 2008. He also holds Level II Certifications in the sprints, hurdles, relays, jumps and combined events from USA Track & Field.
Stewart and his wife Amber have two sons, Sebastian and Elijah.
