Brian Baker -- Head Track & Field Coach, Gardner - Webb University Bulldogs

(as of track & field seasons 2010-11) Brian Baker is in his second season as the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at Gardner-Webb University, and is in his fourth full season with the Gardner-Webb University Track and Field programs. Baker first drew attention in 1989, when he set Arkansas high school records in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs, performances that made him the first homegrown distance runner actively recruited by Arkansas Razorbacks Coach John McDonnell. Baker ran the 1,600 in 4 minutes, 11.5 seconds. His 3,200 record of 9:09.8 still stands.
Baker was a three-time All American in cross country at Arkansas, twice in indoor and twice in outdoor track. Baker won at 5,000 meters at the 1994 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Boise, Idaho. Teammate Jason Bunston finished second.
Earlier, at the 1994 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, Baker ran a leg on Arkansas' victorious distance medley relay.
Baker's best finish in cross country came in the 1991 nationals, when he finished third.
Baker made his best run at a U.S. Olympics team in 1996. He finished ninth in the 5,000 at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Atlanta. But for a part of the summer before the Atlanta Games, Baker was one of only three athletes who had met the Olympic qualifying standard because the Olympic Trials race was not run under the qualifying standard. He was knocked off the team three days before the deadline by Jim Spivey.
Baker did not come close at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento, Calif. He made the final, but finished 12th in 13:58.72.
International travel provided Baker with some of his favorite memories. He competed in Italy, South Africa and in Winnipeg, Manitoba, winning the 1999 Pan American Games bronze medal in the 5,000 in 13:47.29.
Baker noticed an opening at Gardner-Webb for a cross country coach and an assistant in track before the 2001-2002 academic year.

Dave Barney -- Head (Men's and Women's) Cross Country & Track and Field Coach, Paradise Valley Community College Pumas

(as of track & field seasons 2010-11) David Barney is the first and only cross country and track and field coach at Paradise Valley Community College. He has developed those programs into some of the most successful programs in the country. Since 1996, his men's and women's cross country teams have combined to win an impressive 4 national championships, been runners up 5 times, were 3rd once and 4th once. Three PVCC runners have captured Individual National Championships, 31 have earned All-American honors. The Puma cross-country teams have claimed 12 of a possible 14 Region I Championships.
Since it's inception in 1999, the PVCC Track and Field program, has also had a vast amount of success. Barney's Pumas have 8 times been in the top 10 at the NJCAA National meet. Numerous PVCC athletes have excelled individually, capturing 15 Individual National Championships and 75 All-American awards.
Coach Barney grew up in Arizona and has strong ties to its running community. He was a state cross country and track and field champion, as well as junior college national champion. Following his days as an All-American athlete at the University of Arkansas, he returned to Arizona. He competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials four times and twice represented the U.S.A. in the world championships as a member of the U.S. National Team. He has twice been named NJCAA Cross Country National Coach of the Year and was last March was named Indoor Track and Field National Coach of the Year.

Fleur Benatar -- Head Women's Soccer Coach, Texas Woman's University Pioneers

(as of soccer season 2010) Fleur Benatar enters into her third season (2004) as head coach of the Texas Woman's University soccer team.
Benatar led the Pioneers to a 5-10-2 record in their inaugural season and the team has placed eighth out of 10 Lone Star Conference teams each of its first two seasons. One highlight of 2003 was a 1-0 victory at 18th-ranked Central Oklahoma. The 2003 squad ranked sixth defensively and goalkeeper Sara Weaver and defenders Julie Hosek and Collette Parker all received all-Conference Honorable Mention recognition.
Before coming to TWU, Benatar spent two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of North Texas. She helped lead the 2001 Lady Eagles to the regular-season Sun Belt Conference Championship and a 13-5 record. At UNT, she assisted with several duties including on-field coaching, practices, travel, the spring season, recruiting, and many other administrative tasks.
Benatar joined the UNT staff prior to the 2000 season after a year of coaching in the high school ranks in California, where she served as the head coach of the boys' junior varsity soccer team at La Jolla (Calif.) High School. In her one season at La Jolla, Benatar led the team to a first-place finish in its district with an 8-1-1 record. Benatar also served as the coach of the Nomads Soccer Club, a boys' club team, and was a youth coach for the girls in La Jolla.
Benatar, a graduate of Richardson (Tex.) High School, competed for two seasons at the University of Arkansas before transferring to UNT in 1996. A midfielder during her playing career, Benatar competed for the Lady Eagles in 1996 and 1997.
She received her undergraduate degree in Kinesiology from UNT in 1999 and her master's degree in Kinesiology in May 2002.

Missy Bequette -- Director of Basketball Operations, Seattle Storm (WNBA)

(as of basketball season 2008) Bequette served as an assistant for the ABL's Portland Power before joining the Seattle Storm in 2000 as an assistant coach.
A true native of Missouri basketball, Bequette was raised in Crystal City, Mo. While serving as the team's student manager, she received her bachelor of science degree from Missouri in 1985.
Bequette earned her master's degree in sports management from Arkansas in 1986. While at Arkansas (1985-86), she served as a volunteer assistant coach for the Lady Razorbacks program and coach John Sutherland. She also attended the University of Arkansas School of Law from 1986-87.
Bequette is a member of the Women's Basketball Coaching Association (WBCA) and the Missouri Coaches Association. She has also assisted at the University of Missouri (1988-97). Bequette was also the head coach at Southridge High in Beaverton, Ore. in 1998.

Gary Blair -- Head Women's Basketball Coach, Texas A&M University Aggies

*Won the 2010-11 National Championship

Hired by Texas A&M in March, 2003. Named the National Coach of the Year by the Women's Basketball News Service on March 28, 2006.

In 9 years at Arkansas, Gary Blair had several great achievements.
* - The 1998 Final Four
* - The 1999 Women's NIT Championship
* - seven postseason appearances
* - Five 20-win seasons

(as of basketball season 2011-12) His ability to work with athletes from the high school level through the postgraduate is proven. For example, Blair spent the summer of 1996 in the Far East as the assistant coach for the U.S. Jones Cup team. The 1996 team not only won the gold medal, it became the first in U.S. history to go undefeated at the Jones Cup tournament. Every one of the players from the Jones Cup team that Blair worked with are currently stars in the WNBA and four were members of the gold medal U.S. Olympic team.
In his first season at Arkansas, he turned the Lady Razorbacks around from a two-year losing slide with a 15-14 record. The two years prior to his arrival were the first back-to-back losing seasons in school history. Next, Blair molded a team loaded with youth - five freshmen and four sophomores - into a 23-7, NCAA second-round team.
In his eight years at Stephen F. Austin prior to joining Arkansas, Blair's "worst" season was his first at 16-12 in 1985-86. The year prior to his arrival, the Ladyjacks were a miserable 3-24. The next year, SFA went 25-6, and started a seven-year run of conference championships, 25-win seasons and NCAA appearances.
Blair also ranks among the top 15 on the list of winningest active Division I women's basketball coaches.
At Arkansas, Blair was named national women's basketball coach of the year by Basketball Times and Women's Basketball News Service in 1995, and by his peers in the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association who voted him the Converse Coach of the Year in District VI.
Counting his 1995 award at Arkansas, Blair earned Converse District VI Coach of the Year five times. He was Southland Coach of the Year five of the six years. He was twice Gulf Star Conference Coach of the Year.
In addition to working as the Jones Cup assistant in 1996, Blair served as the North coach at the 1994 United States Olympic Festival.
At SFA, Blair posted a 210-43 record for eight seasons with seven straight conference championships and NCAA playoff appearances. Blair's SFA teams were ranked for his last six years in the Associated Press women's basketball poll.
Starting with his second season as a college coach (1986-87), Blair chalked up seven 25-plus winning records. For his last six years in Nacogdoches, the Ladyjacks ranked in the top 12 Division I teams in home attendance.
Blair's teams claimed six consecutive SLC titles and as many SLC postseason tournament titles and NCAA trips. The Ladyjacks won a record 46 consecutive SLC games with only four conference losses under Blair.
Prior to SFA, Blair was an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech during the Lady Techster glory years. During his five years as an assistant, Tech won two national championships in four Final Four appearances.

John Bland -- Head Coach, University of the Cumberlands Patriots

(as of football season 2011) Bland came to the Patriots ('06) after spending five years as the quarterbacks coach at NCAA Division I-A Rice University in Houston, Texas.
Prior to Rice, Bland coached at NCAA Division II Southern Arkansas University. Bland served as an assistant coach from 1994-1999 and was promoted to head coach in 2000. While there, Bland's offense broke several school and conference records, led the conference in scoring in 1998 and 1999, and was among the conference leaders in most offensive categories. In 1997, the Muleriders won the Gulf South Conference championship and were ranked 10th nationally.
Bland also gained invaluable experience at Central High School in Columbia, Tennessee where he served as an assistant coach for two years. In graduate school at Auburn University he worked as a graduate assistant under Pat Dye and while completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Arkansas he served as a student assistant.
Bland spent his collegiate playing days at the University of Arkansas where he was a four year letterman as a quarterback. While in Fayetteville, Bland helped the Razorbacks to four consecutive bowl appearances in the Holiday, Liberty, Orange, and Cotton Bowls. He was named the permanent captain for the 1988 Southwest Conference Championship squad that competed in the Cotton Bowl.
Coach Bland hold's a master's degree in Kinesiology from Auburn University and a bachelor's degree, also in Kinesiology, from the University of Arkansas. Originally from Knoxville, Tennessee, Bland is a graduate of Farragut High School where he was an All-State recipient playing at the quarterback and defensive back positions.

John Bond -- Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks, Georgia State Panthers

(as of football season 2011) John Bond joined Georgia State in July 2008. He was the offensive coordinator at Northern Illinois University for three years (04-06), before being named offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech on January 9, 2007, where he spent one season. He brings 25 seasons of sideline experience to Northern Illinois beginning with two years as a student coach (1983-84) and a year as a grad assistant (1985) under Lou Holtz and Ken Hatfield at the University of Arkansas. Bond also had a four-year stint (2000-03) as offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at Army.
In between, Bond served as running backs coach under Jesse Branch at Southwest Missouri State University (1986-90), three months in the same capacity for Jim Strong at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (1991), quarterback coach for David Lee at the University of Texas-El Paso (1991-93), quarterback boss and passing coordinator for Todd Knight at Delta (MS) State University (1994-95), and offensive coordinator and QB coach under Berry at Illinois State University (1996-99).
A former Razorback quarterback, Bond was a member of the 8-4 Gator Bowl team under Holtz (1981), suffered a career-ending injury, and then served as a student coach on the 7-4-1 Liberty Bowl (1984) and and grad assistant on the 10-2 Holiday Bowl (1985) elevens for Hatfield.
In 1996, Bond started an eight-year partnership with Berry at Illinois State and continued at Army. At ISU, his high-octane Redbird attack set or tied 50 school or conference records on a game, season, or career level in three years as offensive coordinator.
As a prep at Rogers (AR) High School, Bond was a two-sport man and lettered in football (3) and track (2). An All-State QB as a senior, he played for for his father, Gary "Blackie" Bond, who coached for 32 years and was enshrined into the state's high school federation Hall of Fame. In 2003, Bond was inducted into the RHS Hall of Fame.

Kelly Bond -- Associate Head Women's Basketball Coach, Texas A&M University Aggies

(as of basketball season 2011-12) Kelly Bond, who spent the previous three seasons as an assistant women's basketball coach at Arkansas, was named an assistant coach at Texas A&M on April 10, 2003.
A standout college player at Illinois who is quickly becoming a top recruiter, Bond continues her association with Blair as a member of his A&M staff.
Bond's other ties to the midwest and east coast have proved valuable for Blair as his last three Arkansas recruiting classes were nationally ranked.
At Arkansas for three seasons from 2000-2003, Bond coached the guards, and focused on national recruiting and the team's academics.
Prior to joining Blair's staff at Arkansas, Bond was an assistant coach for Jim Jabir at Providence College.
At Providence for two seasons from 1999-2000, Bond administered the individual workouts program and initiated the summer skill and conditioning programs. She was the program's on-campus recruiter, working with prospective student-athletes during their campus visits. Bond also coordinated the correspondence efforts with recruits.
A four-year letterwinner at Illinois, Bond helped the Illini achieve several milestones. During her sophomore campaign, the Illini recorded its first win over a ranked opponent by topping Florida, 67-53.
Then, as a junior and senior, the Illini reached the 1997 and 1998 NCAA Tournament and posted 20-win seasons.
Bond played point guard at Illinois and led the squad to the 1997 Big 10 Championship as a starter. The Illini also made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Sweet 16. She graduated from Illinois in 1998 with a degree in sociology.
Bond played her high school basketball for legendary Chicagoland coach Arthur Penny at Whitney Young High School.

Dick Booth -- Assistant Track & Field Coach, University of Alabama Crimson Tide

(as of track and field season 2011-12) Renowned jumps coach Dick Booth was named an assistant track and field coach at the Alabama on July 7, 2011. Previously he held the same position at the University of Florida for two years (2009-11).
At Florida, Booth was responsible for coaching the jumps and assisting with recruiting and other key phases of the program.
Booth spent 27 seasons as the men's field-events coach at the University of Arkansas and also has served as the head coach at Louisiana-Lafayette. Impressively, every Arkansas school record-holder in the men's field events was either coached or recruited by Booth.
During his four-year tenure as head coach at Louisiana-Lafayette from 1985-88, Booth was responsible for two individual national championships, five All-Americans and 19 school record-holders.
Booth served as field-events coach at the University of Arkansas from 1978-84 and 1988-2009. Since returning to the Razorbacks, Arkansas captured 14 NCAA indoor track titles in 24 tries with a string of eight consecutive outdoor championships between 1992 and 1999 and another winning streak with titles earned in 2003-06.
During his time at Arkansas, Booth was responsible for 45 individual national championships and 137 All-America honors. Additionally, he coached 11 Olympians.
The jumpers he's worked with could compile a Who's Who list of collegiate track. They've included Mike Conley, Erick Walder, Robert Howard, Edrick Floreal, Brian Wellman, Jerome Romain, Ray Doakes, Matt Hemingway, Melvin Lister and Kenny Evans.
Booth has also coached pole vaulter Mark Klee and shot put-discus standouts Marty Kobza and Scott Lofquist, among others. At ULL, he had standouts Hollis Conway and Neil Guidry.
At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, Booth's most successful jumper, Conley, captured a gold medal in the triple jump with the second-longest wind-aided distance in the history of the event. Conley had previously won a silver medal in the 1984 Olympics. Conway, the American indoor record holder in the high jump, earned a silver medal in the 1988 Olympics and a bronze at the 1992 games.
A native of Blue Mound, Kan., Booth was a quarter-miler at Ottawa University. He began his coaching career at Wellington (Kan.) High School, then moved to Fort Scott (Kan.) High School and Shawnee Mission South. He gained a reputation as one of the premier prep field events coach in the country while working with four state record holders in seven seasons at Shawnee Mission South.
He earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Ottawa in 1966 and a master's degree in physical education from Kansas State in 1970.

Kirk Botkin -- Linebackers Coach, University of South Carolina Gamecocks

(as of football season 2012) Kirk was named the linebackers coach at the University of South Carolina on January 13, 2012.
Botkin returned to the collegiate coaching ranks after spending two seasons (10-11) coaching high school football at Texas High School in Texarkana, Texas. He spent the 2008 and '09 seasons coaching the defensive ends and special teams at his alma mater, Arkansas, under Bobby Petrino, including one season alongside Gamecocks' defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward.
Botkin was the Razorbacks' first All-SEC performer as a tight end in 1992 and '93, and served as a captain during his senior season. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in education. He was later named to the Razorbacks' All-Decade team for the 1990s after logging 87 career receptions for 819 yards and five touchdowns.
Botkin spent four years in the NFL, including playing for Bill Parcells in New England (1994), Jim Mora in New Orleans (1994-95) and Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh (1996-97). After an injury ended his career, he began his coaching career at his hometown high school of Robert E. Lee High in Baytown, Texas in 1999. In 2000 he worked as a graduate assistant at Rice University in Houston.
From 2001-05, Botkin served as an assistant coach at Jacksonville State University, first as a tight ends/offensive tackles coach, then as an outside linebackers/special teams coach. While at JSU, the squad won the Ohio Valley Conference in 2003 and '04 and coached seven all-conference performers.
Between stints at Jacksonville State and Arkansas, Botkin spent two seasons coaching linebackers and special teams at Louisiana-Monroe. In 2007, he helped the Warhawks record their first non-losing season in 14 years, including a win at Alabama.