Pepin Named Big 12 Coach of the Year

Lincoln ? Tuesday afternoon the Big 12 Conference announced that Nebraska Head Coach Gary Pepin has been named the Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year for the second straight season. The honor comes just four days after the Husker men successfully defended their team title at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships, becoming the first men’s squad in conference history to repeat at the outdoor meet.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

The 2010 award marked the 21st time in the Big 12 era that Pepin has been named Coach of the Year and it is his sixth honor as the men’s top coach outdoors. Pepin brought a well-rounded men’s team to Columbia, Mo., for the conference championships, as the squad took the team title with only one individual champion.

 

Paul Hamilton, who is personally coached by Pepin, won the men’s high jump for the second straight year and extended the Huskers’ run in the event to three straight years, as Dusty Jonas also won the title in 2008. Hamilton’s win was another milestone for Pepin, as it marked his 500th individual conference championship won under his guidance.

 

Overall as the men’s and women’s coach, Pepin has guided the Husker men and women to 66 conference titles, including 44 Big Eight championships and a Big 12 Conference high 22 team crowns. Pepin’s 22 team championships are unmatched in the conference, as Beverly Kearney of Texas sits in a distance second with 11 women’s titles. The Husker men’s and women’s 22 Big 12 Conference titles are also the most of any school in the conference, topping Texas’ 20.

 

Pepin is currently getting his team ready for the NCAA West Regional Preliminary Round, which is set for Thursday, May 27 ? Saturday, May 29 in Austin, Texas. The top 48 competitors in each event will compete for a spot at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. The top 12 finishes in each event from the West and East Regionals will move onto the national meet in June.