WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue Track & Field and Cross Country head coach Norbert Elliott announced two additions to his staff Thursday, welcoming assistant coaches Jim Garnham and Jermaine Jones to West Lafayette. Garnham will supervise the Boilermakers' jumps areas and multi-events, while Jones is set to oversee the throws programs.
"I am very excited to have both Jim Garnham and Jermaine Jones join our family," said Elliott. "They both bring a wealth of experience in teaching and developing student athletes at the conference and national levels. In our sport, you get to watch other coaches coach their athletes right beside you. I've had the chance to witness Jim's successes at Notre Dame, and Jermaine's accomplishments in the Big Ten. They will both help us to maintain our strong recruiting footprint in the state and region."
The pair brings a combined 38 years of college coaching experience to the Boilermaker staff, tutoring a variety of conference champions, All-Americans and school record holders.
Garnham comes to West Lafayette from intrastate rival Notre Dame, where he assisted the Fighting Irish program for 10 seasons. While in South Bend he mentored a combined 14 All-Americans, 18 NCAA qualifiers, 61 NCAA Regional qualifiers, 17 conference titles, nine school records and one Capital One Academic All-America honor.
His most-recent, standout pupils at Notre Dame include Nate Richartz, Matthew Birzer and Carly Loefell, who all reached All-America status under his tutelage over the past few seasons. Richartz was a five-time All-American and three-time conference champ in the men's pole vault, setting the Fighting Irish's school record and tying the ACC record with a clearance of 5.70 meters (18-08.50) at the conference championship meet. Birzer earned a pair of All-America honors in the men's high jump, including a second-team honor outdoors in 2018, while Carly Loeffel posted the highest women's heptathlon total in Notre Dame history (5,594) and earned All-America honors at the 2013 NCAA Championships.
Prior to his time at Notre Dame, Garnham spend three years at the University of Tulsa where he mentored an NCAA qualifier in the shot put, a USATF indoor shot put qualifier, 17 NCAA Regional qualifiers, four Conference USA champions and 20 All-C-USA athletes. In just three seasons his student-athletes produced a combined 18 program records for the Golden Hurricane.
His coaching career began as an assistant at the University of Buffalo, where he spent five seasons supervising multi-event athletes, javelin throwers and hurdlers. He coached a USATF indoor heptathlon qualifier, a Canadian Olympic trials qualifier in the women's heptathlon, two NCAA qualifiers, four NCAA East Regional qualifiers and five Mid-American Conference champions. Garnham earned his bachelor's degree in history from Kent State in 1998 and will be joined in West Lafayette by his wife, Kelly.
"I am honored for the opportunity to coach at Purdue University," said Garnham. "To be a part of a university with such an outstanding history and tradition is truly humbling, and I am grateful to Coach Elliott for the opportunity to coach here. I'm excited to work alongside an elite-level staff and develop our student-athletes into Big Ten champions, NCAA qualifiers and national champions."
Jones returns to the Boilermaker State, where he attended college at Anderson University, pioneered the University of Saint Francis track and field program in Fort Wayne, served as the Ball State head coach for a season and then spent seven seasons at Indiana University.
Most recently Jones was a member of the coaching staffs at Wake Forest and Towson, where he mentored five NCAA Regional qualifiers for the Demon Deacons in 2018 and saw his student-athletes break a pair school records, qualify for a trip to NCAA Regionals and earn just the fifth NCAA Regional qualification spot in program history for the Tigers.
In seven seasons with the Hoosiers, Jones guided his athletes to 13 All-America honors, 14 NCAA Championship qualifications and nine Big Ten titles. His greatest success stories included 2010 Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor Athlete of the Year Faith Sherrill and 2012 Olympic Trials qualifier Tiffany Howard. Sherrill was a five-time All-American at Indiana and still holds the Hoosiers indoor and outdoor records in the shot put, in addition to winning four individual Big Ten titles and setting the outdoor championship meet record in 2010. Howard was a 2009 All-American outdoors at Indiana and was a finalist in the shot put at the 2012 USA Trials.
Before joining the staff at Indiana Jones served as an assistant coach for cross country and track and field at the University of Richmond, where he developed a strength and conditioning program and served as the primary contact for recruiting. Jones coached the 2007 Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Year, as well as multiple Atlantic-10 champions.
Jones spent four seasons at Ball State, including two as the Cardinals' head coach, and helped create the track and field and cross country programs at Saint Francis, where he spent three seasons with the Cougars.
A 1997 graduate of Anderson University, Jones earned his bachelor's degree in physical education. While at Anderson, Jones was a member of the football and track and field teams. A two-year team captain for football, he was named to the Senior All-Star Classic Game. Jones was an all-conference selection and national qualifier for discus. He was an All-American honoree for track and field and was a two-time conference MVP.
"I would like to thank Norbert Elliott for this tremendous opportunity, and I'm more than excited to join the Purdue family," said Jones. "The culture in this program is undeniably positive, and my goal is to continue this train rolling onward and upward."
"I am very excited to have both Jim Garnham and Jermaine Jones join our family," said Elliott. "They both bring a wealth of experience in teaching and developing student athletes at the conference and national levels. In our sport, you get to watch other coaches coach their athletes right beside you. I've had the chance to witness Jim's successes at Notre Dame, and Jermaine's accomplishments in the Big Ten. They will both help us to maintain our strong recruiting footprint in the state and region."
The pair brings a combined 38 years of college coaching experience to the Boilermaker staff, tutoring a variety of conference champions, All-Americans and school record holders.
Garnham comes to West Lafayette from intrastate rival Notre Dame, where he assisted the Fighting Irish program for 10 seasons. While in South Bend he mentored a combined 14 All-Americans, 18 NCAA qualifiers, 61 NCAA Regional qualifiers, 17 conference titles, nine school records and one Capital One Academic All-America honor.
His most-recent, standout pupils at Notre Dame include Nate Richartz, Matthew Birzer and Carly Loefell, who all reached All-America status under his tutelage over the past few seasons. Richartz was a five-time All-American and three-time conference champ in the men's pole vault, setting the Fighting Irish's school record and tying the ACC record with a clearance of 5.70 meters (18-08.50) at the conference championship meet. Birzer earned a pair of All-America honors in the men's high jump, including a second-team honor outdoors in 2018, while Carly Loeffel posted the highest women's heptathlon total in Notre Dame history (5,594) and earned All-America honors at the 2013 NCAA Championships.
Prior to his time at Notre Dame, Garnham spend three years at the University of Tulsa where he mentored an NCAA qualifier in the shot put, a USATF indoor shot put qualifier, 17 NCAA Regional qualifiers, four Conference USA champions and 20 All-C-USA athletes. In just three seasons his student-athletes produced a combined 18 program records for the Golden Hurricane.
His coaching career began as an assistant at the University of Buffalo, where he spent five seasons supervising multi-event athletes, javelin throwers and hurdlers. He coached a USATF indoor heptathlon qualifier, a Canadian Olympic trials qualifier in the women's heptathlon, two NCAA qualifiers, four NCAA East Regional qualifiers and five Mid-American Conference champions. Garnham earned his bachelor's degree in history from Kent State in 1998 and will be joined in West Lafayette by his wife, Kelly.
"I am honored for the opportunity to coach at Purdue University," said Garnham. "To be a part of a university with such an outstanding history and tradition is truly humbling, and I am grateful to Coach Elliott for the opportunity to coach here. I'm excited to work alongside an elite-level staff and develop our student-athletes into Big Ten champions, NCAA qualifiers and national champions."
Jones returns to the Boilermaker State, where he attended college at Anderson University, pioneered the University of Saint Francis track and field program in Fort Wayne, served as the Ball State head coach for a season and then spent seven seasons at Indiana University.
Most recently Jones was a member of the coaching staffs at Wake Forest and Towson, where he mentored five NCAA Regional qualifiers for the Demon Deacons in 2018 and saw his student-athletes break a pair school records, qualify for a trip to NCAA Regionals and earn just the fifth NCAA Regional qualification spot in program history for the Tigers.
In seven seasons with the Hoosiers, Jones guided his athletes to 13 All-America honors, 14 NCAA Championship qualifications and nine Big Ten titles. His greatest success stories included 2010 Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor Athlete of the Year Faith Sherrill and 2012 Olympic Trials qualifier Tiffany Howard. Sherrill was a five-time All-American at Indiana and still holds the Hoosiers indoor and outdoor records in the shot put, in addition to winning four individual Big Ten titles and setting the outdoor championship meet record in 2010. Howard was a 2009 All-American outdoors at Indiana and was a finalist in the shot put at the 2012 USA Trials.
Before joining the staff at Indiana Jones served as an assistant coach for cross country and track and field at the University of Richmond, where he developed a strength and conditioning program and served as the primary contact for recruiting. Jones coached the 2007 Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Year, as well as multiple Atlantic-10 champions.
Jones spent four seasons at Ball State, including two as the Cardinals' head coach, and helped create the track and field and cross country programs at Saint Francis, where he spent three seasons with the Cougars.
A 1997 graduate of Anderson University, Jones earned his bachelor's degree in physical education. While at Anderson, Jones was a member of the football and track and field teams. A two-year team captain for football, he was named to the Senior All-Star Classic Game. Jones was an all-conference selection and national qualifier for discus. He was an All-American honoree for track and field and was a two-time conference MVP.
"I would like to thank Norbert Elliott for this tremendous opportunity, and I'm more than excited to join the Purdue family," said Jones. "The culture in this program is undeniably positive, and my goal is to continue this train rolling onward and upward."