STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton State has hired a rising star to lead the next era of Texan Track and Field and Cross Country. Tarleton Athletics announced Thursday they have tabbed Bobby Carter as the next head coach of the programs.
Carter joins the Texans after spending the last eight years as an NCAA Division I assistant track and field coach, including four years at the Power Five conference level. He served the last three seasons at Arizona (2021-24), three seasons at Navy (2018-21), one season at Oral Roberts (2017-18) and one season at Nebraska (2016-17).
“Bobby Carter has a tremendous reputation and we were impressed by his knowledge, charisma and potential during our process of choosing the right candidate for our head coaching position,” Vice President and Director of Athletics Steve Uryasz said. “Coach Carter’s up-and-coming career path matches our own department’s rise to national prominence, and he brings instant credibility to our track and field and cross country programs.”
A two-time All-American himself while competing at Nebraska from 2009-14, Carter has guided six First Team All-Americans, 132 conference finalists, 115 conference medalists and 29 conference champions across his coaching career.
“I am honored to be the next Track and Field and Cross Country head coach at Tarleton State University,” Carter said. “As the head coach, I am committed to guiding this program to the best of my abilities and also ready to win some championships with our dedicated staff, alumni and student athletes. I would like to thank Vice President Steve Uryasz for this opportunity and for believing in me. I look forward to leading and inspiring our athletes to achieve their highest potential, both on and off the track and contributing to the rich tradition of athletic excellence at Tarleton State.”
Carter spent the last three years as Arizona’s jumps and multis coach. The Wildcats credited Carter for helping “lift the jumps and multis to newfound heights in the national picture,” guiding several student-athletes to some of the top marks in program history and competition at the NCAA Championships.
Just two weeks ago, Carter had a Men’s 4x100m team compete in the NCAA Championships at Oregon, where they advanced to the NCAA Finals after shattering the school record. The 4×100 relay team ran a program record 38.75-second finish on Day 1, besting the previous school record of 38.85 seconds. Carter also had a student-athlete advance to the NCAA Championships in both the long jump and triple jump, qualifying on a best long jump of 25-4.75 and triple jump of 52-2.5. The same student-athlete won the Men’s Triple Jump at the Pac-12 Championships in mid-May.
In his second season in 2022-23 with Arizona Track and Field, Carter and the Wildcats had a Second Team All-American long jumper. The men’s track and field team finished 18th in the USTFCCCA National Rankings. The Wildcats were ranked by the USTFCCCA as high as seventh in the women’s long jump and ninth in the women’s triple jump nationally.
“Tarleton State has hired one of the finest young men who I ever coached in my 57 years of coaching,” retired Nebraska Track and Field head coach Gary Pepin said. “Bobby is a very convicted family man and Christian. He was an outstanding athlete at Nebraska and is definitely a hard worker. Bobby always has the best interest of the athletes at heart, on and off the track. Bobby wants to see his athletes strive for high goals and get the most out of their God-given talents. He thinks graduation, life after track and field, and becoming a productive citizen is most important. Tarleton State made a terrific hire.”
In his three years at Navy, Carter coached jumps and helped guide the program to seven Patriot League team titles. In his final season, Carter coached three All-Conference athletes on the road to the program’s third consecutive Outdoor Conference Championships sweep. Carter coached two all-conference student-athletes in the long jump and triple jump, plus coached three to school records.
“Bobby Carter is a young, smart, energetic and very knowledgeable coach,” Texas Tech Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Wes Kittley said. “He has been coached and mentored by the great Gary Pepin, former head coach at Nebraska, Joe Dial, former head coach at Oral Roberts, and Fred Harvey, the current head coach at Arizona – three coaches who I have admired for years. So, he definitely is ready for this challenge. He has worked himself up through the ranks and is ready to be a head coach!”
In his lone year at Oral Roberts, Carter helped develop six All-Americans, 14 conference champions and 10 school record holders. Before making his way to Oral Roberts, Carter coached at Nebraska, his alma mater. He was responsible for four All-Americans including the USATF Junior Outdoor Triple Jump Championship winner with a mark of 53-2.25.
“I think Bobby Carter is a great coach,” California Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Robyne Johnson said. “I had the opportunity to know him when he was at Navy while I was the head coach at Boston U. Bobby is tremendously passionate about what he does, and he is a great coach. He will do a great job elevating the program at Tarleton State.”
Carter was an elite athlete himself, competing for Nebraska in the long jump and 4×100 relay. He was a two-time All-American, finishing 12th in the long jump at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships and seventh at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships competing as part of the 4×100 relay. During his time at Nebraska, Carter also earned scholar athlete distinctions.
Carter comes from a decorated Track and Field family including his uncle Michael who holds the American national high school record of 81 feet 3.5 inches in the shot put and was also an Olympic Silver Medalist in shot put in 1984. He won three Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers and was the first man to win an Olympic medal and a Super Bowl ring in the same season. Bobby Carter’s cousin, Michelle Carter, is the current American record holder in the shot put (67-8), set at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio when she won a gold medal. She is the first United States women’s athlete to win the event since the competition began at the 1948 Summer Olympic Games in London, and only the second American to win any medal in the event.
Bobby Carter and his wife Nataly have three sons, Maiyan, Kobe, and Maasai.
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