Norbert Elliott is in his sixth season as head coach of the track & field and cross country programs, and the 2023-24 campaign marks his 12th year at Purdue. Elliott was named head coach in 2018 after he served as associate head coach since 2015, where he worked with the sprinters, hurdlers, horizontal jumpers and relay teams.
Elliott has helped guide Purdue to great success throughout his tenure, highlighted by a Big Ten team title in 2017, the best NCAA cross country team finish in nearly 70 years in 2019 and numerous All-America accolades and top-10 individual finishes nationally.
In 2022-23, Elliott’s team was represented at both the indoor and outdoor NCAA championships, while the men’s cross country team posted a top-five Big Ten finish for the fifth time in six seasons, a program first since 1950. Fifty top-10 marks in school history were set, including two indoors at No. 2 all-time, while several marks in the record books are the team’s best in their respective events in more than 10 years. That includes a pentathlon score by Bryanna Craig that is fourth in school history and the best by a Boilermaker since 1997. USTFCCCA All-Academic team and individual honors, Academic All-Big Ten awards and Big Ten Distinguished Scholars highlighted another strong year academically.
Purdue won nine Big Ten medals, led by Praise Aniamaka’s gold in the outdoor triple jump. Aniamaka and Johnny Vanos earned Second Team All-America honors, in the outdoor triple jump and indoor weight throw, respectively. Vanos’s NCAA weight throw appearance came after he won silver at Big Tens, and Craig also took home silver in both the indoor pentathlon and outdoor heptathlon in her freshman season.
In NCAA competition outdoors, Purdue had 11 entries at the NCAA East Preliminary Round and three advanced to the NCAA Championships. Aniamaka led the way with a ninth-place finish nationally, with a jump of 16.10m to improve his place at No. 6 in team history. The men’s 4x100 ran the third-fastest time in school history for a 21st-place finish, and the women’s 4x400 relay also raced in Austin, Texas, and joined the men’s 4x100 to earn honorable mention distinction.
The 2021-22 season saw Purdue earn 11 NCAA entries, achieve 71 top-10 marks in school history, including one record by Curt Eckstein in the indoor 3,000m and a record-tying decathlon performance by Isaiah Martin. Academically, Kelly Cook Jr. was named to the Academic All-America Third Team, the seventh Boilermaker in program history ever to be recognized, the first since 2015 and the third from the men's team. He was joined on the Academic All-District Team by Curt Eckstein, the 14th and 15th honorees in team history. Once again, both the men’s and women’s cross country and track & field teams collected USTFCCCA All-Academic Team accolades, while 10 individual honors were bestowed. Additionally, Martin’s historic career concluded with him being recognized as the Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Two Boilermakers qualified individually for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, as Eckstein raced at his fourth championship meet and Emma Tate became the first woman to earn an NCAA berth since 2017. The duo both earned USTFCCCA All-Region accolades.
Indoors, the men earned a fourth consecutive top-seven Big Ten finish as Safin Wills was the runner-up in the triple jump. That highlighted Purdue’s five medals and 15 top-eight finishes. Additionally, Praise Aniamaka broke the broke the Canadian Under-20 record in the triple jump.
The Boilermakers earned nine entries at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, their most since 2018 and tied for sixth-most among all Big Ten programs. Martin earned a ninth-place finish in the decathlon, Kaia Harris was 13th in the discus and Wills was 15th in the triple jump to collect USTFCCCA Second Team All-America honors. Wills in the long jump, Kelly Cook Jr. in the hammer throw, K’Ja Talley in the 400m hurdles, the women’s 4x400 and 4x100 relays and the men’s 4x100 all earned Honorable Mention. At the Big Ten Championships, Wills won the triple jump and Eckstein (10,000m) and Antonio Mitchell II (200m) took silvers as four medals were won and 18 top-eight finishes were achieved.
In 2020-21, the men’s cross country and track & field team was one of just 10 men's teams nationally and one of three in the Big Ten that earned points at the NCAA cross country and indoor track & field championships, as the team was ranked No. 8 nationally in USTFCCCA’s Program of the Year mid-year update. A total of 10 All-America honors were earned during the year and 41 top-10 marks in school history were set, including five program records. Purdue continued to have unparalleled academic success, as both the men’s and women’s cross country and track & field teams were bestowed with USTFCCCA All-Academic Team distinction and 18 individuals were honored.
The men’s cross country team earned a third consecutive NCAA Championship appearance for just the second time ever, along with the 1946-50 teams. The Boilermakers were third at the Big Ten meet, their third consecutive top-four Big Ten finish, a program first since 1948.
Indoors, Purdue had five NCAA qualifiers, as two Boilermakers, Tamar Greene (7th, triple jump) and Marcellus Moore (6th, 60m), earned first team All-America honors and three collected second team distinction. The Boilermakers won nine Big Ten medals, highlighted by Alexis Zatta’s gold in the high jump and silver medals by Camille Christopher in the 200m, Isaiah Martin in the heptathlon and Waseem Williams in the 60m. As a team, the men were sixth for a third consecutive top-six finish after finishing outside the top nine each of the previous four years (2015-18) and nine of the previous 13 (2006-18).
Purdue had five entries at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, led by Martin’s 10th-place finish in the decathlon and Greene’s 13th-place showing in the triple jump, as the duo earned second team All-America accolades. Additionally, the men’s 4x100, women’s 4x400 and Samson Colebrooke (200m) collected honorable mention honors at the national championship meet. Greene, in the triple jump, and the men’s 4x100 relay won Big Ten titles, while Colebrooke (100m) and the women’s 4x400 relay took home silver and two bronze medals were won.
The 2019-20 campaign was a banner for the Purdue track & field and cross country program. Following one of the greatest cross country seasons in school history, Elliott earned the Earle Hayes Award as the Great Lakes Region Men’s Coach of the Year. He is the first Purdue coach since at least 1998 to earn the USTFCCCA honor.
The men placed 11th overall at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, their best finish since 1950. The men won their first-ever NCAA Regional title after a fourth-place Big Ten Championship performance with 82 points, the most by the program since 1985. Jaret Carpenter and Curt Eckstein collected All-America accolades, the 10th and 11th in team history and second and third since 1987. Carpenter finished 10th overall at the NCAA meet, the best finish by a Boilermaker since 1949, and was named the Big Ten Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year.
During the indoor season, Purdue saw five qualify for the NCAA Championships and be named All-Americans, with Purdue’s four men the most to make the indoor meet since five made it in 2003. Three Big Ten titles were won, by Waseem Williams in the 60-meter dash with a Big Ten and Purdue record-breaking time, by Janae’ Moffitt in the high jump and by the women’s 4x400-meter relay team. Jessica Bray added a silver medal in the pole vault while Purdue added five bronze medals. The men finished in the top six for a second consecutive season and the third time in the last 10 years, while the women's seventh-place finish comes after they were 10th the previous year.
In 2018-19, Jalil Brewer qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships and earned All-America honors, while eight Boilermakers made the outdoor championships. That included Williams, who broke the program-record time in the 100-meter dash with a mark of 10.04 seconds, at NCAAs. Williams finished fourth overall, the highest NCAA outdoor finish by a Purdue men’s student-athlete. Williams (100, 4x100), Isaiah Martin (decathlon), Justin Becker (4x100), Samson Colebrooke (4x100), Tamar Greene (4x100, triple jump), and Jah Strange (triple jump) all collected All-America accolades.
The Purdue women finished eighth at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships and were 2017 Big Ten outdoor champions. They placed 14th at the 2017 and 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships. At the same time, the men finished 13th and 15th at the 2016 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, respectively.
During Elliott's tenure, the women's sprinter and hurdlers have experienced tremendous success, headlined by eight-time All-American Devynne Charlton. Carmiesha Cox earned All-America honors as a member of 4x100-meter relay teams, running some of the top 60-, 100- and 200-meter dashes in program history, as did Savannah Carson, Autumn Heath, Sekayi Bracey and Yakira Love.
On the men's side, Waseem Williams took home 2018 Big Ten titles in the 60 meters and 100 meters, advancing to the NCAA Championships in the 100 and earning second team All-America honors. Elliott coached the 4x100-meter relay team of Williams, Malcolm Dotson, Gerald McGee and Shawndail McLaren to the NCAA Championships this season and achieve honorable mention All-America recognition.
Elliott's first men's sprint superstar with the Boilermakers was Raheem Mostert, who took home four gold medals at the conference meets in 2014 and was named the Big Ten Indoor Athlete of the Championships. He topped the field in both the 60 meters and 200 meters indoors and followed up with outdoor 100-meter and 200-meter titles, setting Purdue's 60-meter record and posting top-five school marks in all four races.
In all, Elliott has coached more than 50 All-Americans and eight individual NCAA champions.
Elliott came to Purdue from Campbell University, where he was the head track & field and cross country coach in 2011-12. Prior to his stint with the Camels, he was an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee for seven years. He previously served as head coach at Murray State University for two years, assistant coach at the University of Georgia for nine years and assistant coach at the University of Texas-El Paso for three years.
While with Tennessee, Elliott was the recruiting coordinator for Caribbean student-athletes. He also helped coach his student-athletes to 29 All-America certificates, two NCAA Championships, eight SEC individual championships and five school records. Among his standouts was Aries Merritt, NCAA champion and current world record-holder in the 110-meter hurdles. His excellence with the sprints led Elliott to be honored as the 2007 Mideast Assistant Sprints Coach of the Year.
Elliott boasts an impressive international coaching resume as well.
In 2001, Elliott was selected as the head men's team coach of the Bahamas at the World Championships in Canada. There, he coached the men's 400-meter world champion, women's 200-meter world champion and bronze medalist, and men's 4x400-meter silver medal team.
At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Elliott coached Debbie Ferguson, a finalist in the 100 and 200 meters and a member of the gold-medal winning 4x100-mter relay team. Elliott coached jumps for the 2000 World Junior Champions Team for the Bahamas and the 1999 Bahamian World Championships women's finalists in the 100 and 200 meters. He also has coached numerous World Championships medalists from the Bahamas and Iceland, including a stint as head coach of the Bahamas National Team at the 1995 Central America and Caribbean Meet in Guatemala.
Elliott is married to former Boilermaker standout Angela (Goodman) Elliott.
Elliott has helped guide Purdue to great success throughout his tenure, highlighted by a Big Ten team title in 2017, the best NCAA cross country team finish in nearly 70 years in 2019 and numerous All-America accolades and top-10 individual finishes nationally.
In 2022-23, Elliott’s team was represented at both the indoor and outdoor NCAA championships, while the men’s cross country team posted a top-five Big Ten finish for the fifth time in six seasons, a program first since 1950. Fifty top-10 marks in school history were set, including two indoors at No. 2 all-time, while several marks in the record books are the team’s best in their respective events in more than 10 years. That includes a pentathlon score by Bryanna Craig that is fourth in school history and the best by a Boilermaker since 1997. USTFCCCA All-Academic team and individual honors, Academic All-Big Ten awards and Big Ten Distinguished Scholars highlighted another strong year academically.
Purdue won nine Big Ten medals, led by Praise Aniamaka’s gold in the outdoor triple jump. Aniamaka and Johnny Vanos earned Second Team All-America honors, in the outdoor triple jump and indoor weight throw, respectively. Vanos’s NCAA weight throw appearance came after he won silver at Big Tens, and Craig also took home silver in both the indoor pentathlon and outdoor heptathlon in her freshman season.
In NCAA competition outdoors, Purdue had 11 entries at the NCAA East Preliminary Round and three advanced to the NCAA Championships. Aniamaka led the way with a ninth-place finish nationally, with a jump of 16.10m to improve his place at No. 6 in team history. The men’s 4x100 ran the third-fastest time in school history for a 21st-place finish, and the women’s 4x400 relay also raced in Austin, Texas, and joined the men’s 4x100 to earn honorable mention distinction.
The 2021-22 season saw Purdue earn 11 NCAA entries, achieve 71 top-10 marks in school history, including one record by Curt Eckstein in the indoor 3,000m and a record-tying decathlon performance by Isaiah Martin. Academically, Kelly Cook Jr. was named to the Academic All-America Third Team, the seventh Boilermaker in program history ever to be recognized, the first since 2015 and the third from the men's team. He was joined on the Academic All-District Team by Curt Eckstein, the 14th and 15th honorees in team history. Once again, both the men’s and women’s cross country and track & field teams collected USTFCCCA All-Academic Team accolades, while 10 individual honors were bestowed. Additionally, Martin’s historic career concluded with him being recognized as the Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Two Boilermakers qualified individually for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, as Eckstein raced at his fourth championship meet and Emma Tate became the first woman to earn an NCAA berth since 2017. The duo both earned USTFCCCA All-Region accolades.
Indoors, the men earned a fourth consecutive top-seven Big Ten finish as Safin Wills was the runner-up in the triple jump. That highlighted Purdue’s five medals and 15 top-eight finishes. Additionally, Praise Aniamaka broke the broke the Canadian Under-20 record in the triple jump.
The Boilermakers earned nine entries at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, their most since 2018 and tied for sixth-most among all Big Ten programs. Martin earned a ninth-place finish in the decathlon, Kaia Harris was 13th in the discus and Wills was 15th in the triple jump to collect USTFCCCA Second Team All-America honors. Wills in the long jump, Kelly Cook Jr. in the hammer throw, K’Ja Talley in the 400m hurdles, the women’s 4x400 and 4x100 relays and the men’s 4x100 all earned Honorable Mention. At the Big Ten Championships, Wills won the triple jump and Eckstein (10,000m) and Antonio Mitchell II (200m) took silvers as four medals were won and 18 top-eight finishes were achieved.
In 2020-21, the men’s cross country and track & field team was one of just 10 men's teams nationally and one of three in the Big Ten that earned points at the NCAA cross country and indoor track & field championships, as the team was ranked No. 8 nationally in USTFCCCA’s Program of the Year mid-year update. A total of 10 All-America honors were earned during the year and 41 top-10 marks in school history were set, including five program records. Purdue continued to have unparalleled academic success, as both the men’s and women’s cross country and track & field teams were bestowed with USTFCCCA All-Academic Team distinction and 18 individuals were honored.
The men’s cross country team earned a third consecutive NCAA Championship appearance for just the second time ever, along with the 1946-50 teams. The Boilermakers were third at the Big Ten meet, their third consecutive top-four Big Ten finish, a program first since 1948.
Indoors, Purdue had five NCAA qualifiers, as two Boilermakers, Tamar Greene (7th, triple jump) and Marcellus Moore (6th, 60m), earned first team All-America honors and three collected second team distinction. The Boilermakers won nine Big Ten medals, highlighted by Alexis Zatta’s gold in the high jump and silver medals by Camille Christopher in the 200m, Isaiah Martin in the heptathlon and Waseem Williams in the 60m. As a team, the men were sixth for a third consecutive top-six finish after finishing outside the top nine each of the previous four years (2015-18) and nine of the previous 13 (2006-18).
Purdue had five entries at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, led by Martin’s 10th-place finish in the decathlon and Greene’s 13th-place showing in the triple jump, as the duo earned second team All-America accolades. Additionally, the men’s 4x100, women’s 4x400 and Samson Colebrooke (200m) collected honorable mention honors at the national championship meet. Greene, in the triple jump, and the men’s 4x100 relay won Big Ten titles, while Colebrooke (100m) and the women’s 4x400 relay took home silver and two bronze medals were won.
The 2019-20 campaign was a banner for the Purdue track & field and cross country program. Following one of the greatest cross country seasons in school history, Elliott earned the Earle Hayes Award as the Great Lakes Region Men’s Coach of the Year. He is the first Purdue coach since at least 1998 to earn the USTFCCCA honor.
The men placed 11th overall at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, their best finish since 1950. The men won their first-ever NCAA Regional title after a fourth-place Big Ten Championship performance with 82 points, the most by the program since 1985. Jaret Carpenter and Curt Eckstein collected All-America accolades, the 10th and 11th in team history and second and third since 1987. Carpenter finished 10th overall at the NCAA meet, the best finish by a Boilermaker since 1949, and was named the Big Ten Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year.
During the indoor season, Purdue saw five qualify for the NCAA Championships and be named All-Americans, with Purdue’s four men the most to make the indoor meet since five made it in 2003. Three Big Ten titles were won, by Waseem Williams in the 60-meter dash with a Big Ten and Purdue record-breaking time, by Janae’ Moffitt in the high jump and by the women’s 4x400-meter relay team. Jessica Bray added a silver medal in the pole vault while Purdue added five bronze medals. The men finished in the top six for a second consecutive season and the third time in the last 10 years, while the women's seventh-place finish comes after they were 10th the previous year.
In 2018-19, Jalil Brewer qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships and earned All-America honors, while eight Boilermakers made the outdoor championships. That included Williams, who broke the program-record time in the 100-meter dash with a mark of 10.04 seconds, at NCAAs. Williams finished fourth overall, the highest NCAA outdoor finish by a Purdue men’s student-athlete. Williams (100, 4x100), Isaiah Martin (decathlon), Justin Becker (4x100), Samson Colebrooke (4x100), Tamar Greene (4x100, triple jump), and Jah Strange (triple jump) all collected All-America accolades.
The Purdue women finished eighth at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships and were 2017 Big Ten outdoor champions. They placed 14th at the 2017 and 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships. At the same time, the men finished 13th and 15th at the 2016 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, respectively.
During Elliott's tenure, the women's sprinter and hurdlers have experienced tremendous success, headlined by eight-time All-American Devynne Charlton. Carmiesha Cox earned All-America honors as a member of 4x100-meter relay teams, running some of the top 60-, 100- and 200-meter dashes in program history, as did Savannah Carson, Autumn Heath, Sekayi Bracey and Yakira Love.
On the men's side, Waseem Williams took home 2018 Big Ten titles in the 60 meters and 100 meters, advancing to the NCAA Championships in the 100 and earning second team All-America honors. Elliott coached the 4x100-meter relay team of Williams, Malcolm Dotson, Gerald McGee and Shawndail McLaren to the NCAA Championships this season and achieve honorable mention All-America recognition.
Elliott's first men's sprint superstar with the Boilermakers was Raheem Mostert, who took home four gold medals at the conference meets in 2014 and was named the Big Ten Indoor Athlete of the Championships. He topped the field in both the 60 meters and 200 meters indoors and followed up with outdoor 100-meter and 200-meter titles, setting Purdue's 60-meter record and posting top-five school marks in all four races.
In all, Elliott has coached more than 50 All-Americans and eight individual NCAA champions.
Elliott came to Purdue from Campbell University, where he was the head track & field and cross country coach in 2011-12. Prior to his stint with the Camels, he was an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee for seven years. He previously served as head coach at Murray State University for two years, assistant coach at the University of Georgia for nine years and assistant coach at the University of Texas-El Paso for three years.
While with Tennessee, Elliott was the recruiting coordinator for Caribbean student-athletes. He also helped coach his student-athletes to 29 All-America certificates, two NCAA Championships, eight SEC individual championships and five school records. Among his standouts was Aries Merritt, NCAA champion and current world record-holder in the 110-meter hurdles. His excellence with the sprints led Elliott to be honored as the 2007 Mideast Assistant Sprints Coach of the Year.
Elliott boasts an impressive international coaching resume as well.
In 2001, Elliott was selected as the head men's team coach of the Bahamas at the World Championships in Canada. There, he coached the men's 400-meter world champion, women's 200-meter world champion and bronze medalist, and men's 4x400-meter silver medal team.
At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Elliott coached Debbie Ferguson, a finalist in the 100 and 200 meters and a member of the gold-medal winning 4x100-mter relay team. Elliott coached jumps for the 2000 World Junior Champions Team for the Bahamas and the 1999 Bahamian World Championships women's finalists in the 100 and 200 meters. He also has coached numerous World Championships medalists from the Bahamas and Iceland, including a stint as head coach of the Bahamas National Team at the 1995 Central America and Caribbean Meet in Guatemala.
Elliott is married to former Boilermaker standout Angela (Goodman) Elliott.