Coker Names Benny Morgan First Track and Field Coach

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Coker College Vice President for Athletics and Facilities Lynn Griffin announced today that Benny Morgan has been appointed as head men's and women's track and field coach. He will be the first coach in the program's history. Morgan will also be the head men's and women's cross country coach.

"The extensive experience, knowledge and passion Benny brings to the table for track and field was unparalleled in our coaching search," Griffin said. "For a new program, we need a strong leader and motivator, and we have landed just that with Benny. I'm confident our programs are in the right hands."

Morgan previously coached at Duke University, where he served as a volunteer assistant coach for cross country and track and field from 2010-11. There he was responsible for training middle distances, long sprinters and the high jump.

"I am excited to be chosen as the first-ever track and field coach at Coker," Morgan said. "This is truly a blessing to reach this opportunity after 20 years in the sport. I have been fortunate with my coaching career to this point, and my goal is to bring that same excitement and success to the Coker programs."

Before coaching at Duke, Morgan was the director of men's and women's cross country and track and field at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, N.C., from 2007-10. During his time there he was voted conference coach of the year in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Morgan coached two state championship teams in women's cross country and one conference and regional championship team in men's cross country. He also had two women's track and field teams that finished second in the state.

In addition, Morgan's experience includes serving as interim head men's and women's cross country and track and field coach at Winston-Salem State University (2005-06), graduate assistant and recruiting coordinator at Campbell University (2004-05) and head men's and women's cross country/men's head track and field/assistant women's track and field coach at Southeast Raleigh High School in Raleigh, N.C. (2000-04).

During his time at Campbell, Morgan led the men's track and field team to a runner-up finish in the Atlantic Sun Conference. While at Raleigh High he led the men's track and field team to a 4A state title in 2004, and the women's cross country teams were nationally ranked in 2000 and 2001.

Morgan graduated from Indiana State University with a bachelor's degree in sociology with an emphasis in research in 1994. He also minored in physical education endorsement with an emphasis in nutrition. Morgan received his master's in human services and health and wellness from Liberty University in 2013.

Originally from Gary, Ind., Morgan resides in Creedmoor, N.C., with his wife, Tiphanie, and three children: Sydni, 8; Brycen, 6; and Ethan-Isaiah, 2.

The national search for a head coach began immediately after Coker announced it was adding men's and women's track and field as its 18^th and 19^th NCAA Division II sports. The Cobras will be affiliated with the South Atlantic Conference and begin competing in the 2014-15 academic year.

For more information on the track and field and cross country programs, contact Benny Morgan at 843-383-8073 or bmorgan@coker.edu.

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Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the "Best Colleges" in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.