IWU's Schumacher Earns National Coaching Honor

March 13, 2008

Illinois Wesleyan University track and field coach Chris Schumacher has been chosen as the 2008 national women’s indoor track Division III “Coach of the Year” by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The award was announced at the NCAA Division III annual banquet on Thursday, March 13, the eve of the national meet at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio.

Earlier in the week, Schumacher was one of eight coaches to earn a USTFCCCA women’s regional honor, being chosen as the Midwest Region "Coach of the Year" for the 2008 Division III indoor season.

In his 10th season at IWU, Schumacher coached the Titans’ women's team to its first-ever College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin women’s track championship, scoring 187½ points. IWU qualified three women, two men and two relay teams for the NCAA indoor championships, including two-time defending champion Rachel Anderson in the 400 meters.

A native of Wausau, Wis., and a 1986 graduate of Wausau East High School, Schumacher is a 1991 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, where he was an All-American for three years in track, competing on teams that won three national championships. In 2006 he was inducted into the UW-LaCrosse Wall of Fame and in 2002 he earned the UW-LaCrosse Multi-Cultural Alumni Award.

The USTFCCCA selects the top track athlete, field athlete and coach for the eight regions in Division III track and field. A national committee then selects the national winner from the regional honorees.