Don Hood | Head Men & Women's Cross-Country & Track Coach

AT HARDING
Don Hood will be in his third season as head cross-country and track coach at Harding in 2020-21.

BEFORE HARDING
Hood, a native of Abilene, Texas, coached at LeTourneau for two seasons, helping start the program in January 2018. In his first season there, Hood helped three athletes qualify for NCAA Division III national meets.

Hood went to LeTourneau after serving as the Girls Athletic Coordinator and head boys and girls track and cross-country coach at Brownwood High School beginning in 2009. His track and cross-country teams won nine district championships.

Prior to Brownwood, Hood spent four seasons as the head track and field coach at Abilene Christian University. During his tenure, Hood led the Wildcat men's program to three straight NCAA Division II outdoor national championships (2006-08) and directed the women's program to the 2008 outdoor national title, the program's first team championship since winning the 2000 indoor title. In 2008, he received USTFCCCA Men's National Coach of the Year.

Before his time at ACU, Hood served as an assistant to Wes Kittley at Texas Tech from 2002-05. During that time, he coached men's and women's horizontal jumps and the pole vault.  He helped coach the Tech men to the 2005 Big 12 outdoor team championship, the school’s first track & field conference title.

During his three seasons at Texas Tech, Hood coached five All-Americans, two school record-holders and 14 NCAA Division I championship meet qualifiers.

From 1996 to 2002, Hood was the head cross country and track & field coach at Texas State (formerly Southwest Texas State), where he led the Bobcats to five Southland Conference championships.

Hood accepted his first collegiate coaching position as the assistant track and field coach at Sam Houston State University from 1994-96. During his two years, the Bearkats set 15 school records in the events Hood coached.

Before his time coaching college athletes, Hood was the head coach for the Temple High School cross-country and track and field teams as well as an assistant coach for the football team from 1988-94.

EDUCATION
Hood was a six-time TAPPS state champion in cross-country and track in high school before earning four letters at Abilene Christian University in both cross-country and track. He was also a member of the Wildcat cross-country teams that qualified for Division II national meets. During his time at ACU, Hood was named to the Dean’s Honor Roll seven times and earned the Bud Clanton Award twice for having the highest GPA among track letter winners.
 
After finishing his undergrad degree, Hood earned his master’s of science at the United States Sports Academy in 1988.

FAMILY
Don and his wife, Rachel, have three daughters—Victoria, Julianne and Annabeth.