Local high school cross country coach Stephen Howard has been hired as the new Radford University Cross Country and Track and Field programs’ assistant coach, announced by Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Shelli Sayers. Howard comes to Radford after leading the cross country and track and field programs at Blacksburg High School for the past five seasons. He helped lead the Bruins to a total of 13 team state championships, 13 individual state champions, and 15 relay team state champions. He has piled up numerous coaching awards, including the 2022 Virginia MileSplit Cross Country Coach of the Year, 2023-24 NFHS and VHSL Virginia Boys Cross Country Coach of the Year, 2024 Roanoke Times Girls Track and Field Coach of the Year, and multiple USATFCC Coaches Association – Virginia Coach of the Year.
“Coach Howard did an incredible job at Blacksburg on a state and national level,” Sayers said. “His love for the sport, care for student-athletes, and joy he exudes coaching really stood out to our staff, administration, and the student-athletes during the interview process. The student-athletes already have a connection with Coach Howard which is important for the future success of our team.”As the coach for around 80 student-athletes in Cross Country and 200 student-athletes in Track and Field, he led his program to break 40 school records and have 17 student-athletes compete at the NCAA Division I level. Prior to serving as the head coach at Blacksburg, he was an assistant at Christiansburg Middle School (2020-21) and across Blacksburg Middle and High Schools (2006-10).Outside of coaching, Howard taught middle school science at Montgomery County Public Schools from 2019. He was named the district’s Teacher of the Year for the 2020-21 academic year. Prior to teaching, he helped manage RunAbout Sports Blacksburg (2005-10, 2015-18) and was a zookeeper at the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center (2011-14) and Dallas Zoo (2014-15).Howard holds two degrees from Virginia Tech, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2010 and a Master of Arts, Education in 2019. His wife, Hannah, is a Radford alum. The couple resides in Blacksburg with their three children.
Radford University Athletics
