HOUSTON — The most decorated sprinter/long jumper in Olympic history is now the new head coach of the men’s track and field program at the University of Houston.
Carl Lewis was announced as the new head coach, while Will Blackburn was named the university’s director of track and field, the school announced Thursday morning.
"Will and Carl are both incredible representatives and products of the University of Houston, Houston Athletics and our track and field programs," Vice President for Athletics Chris Pezman said in a news release. "I am personally grateful for their leadership during this transitionary time. We are fortunate to have individuals of their caliber leading our program with Will doing so on the day-to-day side and Carl as head coach. They are two of the very best in the country."
Lewis came to Houston to run for Kyle Tellez in 1979 and competed for the Cougars until 1981. After winning the NCAA Championship title in both the long jump and 100-meters, Lewis made the transition to competing professionally.
At the conclusion of his competitive career, Lewis' achievements were, and still are, unprecedented in track and field.
He is one of two athletes to win nine Olympic gold medals and one of two to win four golds in the same event. He also holds the record for winning 10 medals at the World Outdoor Championships, including eight golds.
"I am excited to continue with this staff on our journey to win a national championship," Lewis said. "We wanted to continue the legacy of Leroy Burrell and Tom Tellez and agreed this was the way to do it. Will and I have known each other for multiple years and are looking forward to leading this team to all the things we want to do and keeping the history and tradition of #HTownSpeedCity alive."
Lewis joined the UH track and field coaching staff in 2013 as a volunteer coach for former head coach Leroy Burrell before being brought on full-time the following season.
During his time as a coach for UH, he has helped guide the program to 15 combined conference championships including the UH men's track and field team's third-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2019. Among the athletes he has coached, many have been Olympians, National Champions, All-Americans and Conference Champions.
As the director of track and field, Blackburn will oversee the program in its entirety while also continuing to coach the throwing events and horizontal jumps.
"What an exciting opportunity to continue and build upon the success and achievements of the long-celebrated history of the University of Houston Track and Field program," Blackburn said. "I would like to thank Chris Pezman, DeJuena Chizer, Lauren DuBois and Monty Porter for investing in the vision, energy and excitement that we will continue to bring to the Houston Track and Field program. I also want to thank my wife Geri and my family for all their support. What an opportunity to help lead this historic program."
Blackburn talked about what it meant to him to be about of the program going back to when he first came to the UH in 1995.
"I came to the University of Houston as a freshman in 1995 and had the pleasure to be under the tutelage of two amazing and trailblazing coaches, Tom Tellez and Leroy Burrell. Through their coaching, dedication, example and leadership of this program, they have taught me what I have learned and they are the reason that I am a coach today. I especially look forward to the continued relationship of people I consider to be mentors and friends, Carl Lewis and Kyle Tellez. Together we will continue to build upon this historic program."
Blackburn has been with the UH track and field team for 22 seasons and has spent time mentoring the throwers, triple jumpers and long jumpers.
After competing for UH as a thrower, highlighted by a Conference USA championship, Blackburn started his coaching career in 2000 under Burrell.
During his time at UH, Blackburn has been a part of 42 conference championship teams while coaching 10 All-Americans and 45 individual conference champions.
Born in El Paso, Texas, Blackburn graduated from Dayton High School before earning his bachelor's degree in education at UH. He received a master's in Sports Administration and taught in the Health, Human Performance and Kinesiology Department at Houston.
Blackburn is married to his wife, Geri, and the couple have three kids Hudson, Haven and Hawke.
