Track and field coach hired

An All-American student-athlete and successful coach will lead an expanded track and field program at UCCS.

Athletic Director Steve Kirkham announced Sept. 10 the hiring of Brandon Masters as the head track and field coach for the Mountain Lions. Masters spent three seasons at Missouri University Science and Technology and was a part of back-to-back Great Lakes Valley Conference team championships.

“I am honored to have been selected as the UCCS head track and field coach,” Masters said. “Not only is this a fantastic school academically, but also a growing athletic power in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to come home to Colorado and build a national-level track and field program in a place I love. The community, support, and potential on campus makes it an exciting time to be a Mountain Lion.”

Masters spent three seasons with the Miners where he coached the GLVC men’s indoor and outdoor pole vault champion this spring. The vaulter went on to a No. 12 finish at the national outdoor championships. He coached 10 student-athletes at the national championships in pole vault at Missouri S&T. Masters was also a part of back-to-back men’s outdoor team championships the last two seasons.

Masters was an assistant coach at UCCS for four seasons before his position at Missouri S&T. He coached the Mountain Lion jumpers to four All-America performances, 106 All-RMAC performances, 10 conference champions, 14 All-USTFCCCA region selections and two USATF Junior National Qualifiers.

Masters was a three-time All-American in the pole vault and a national qualifier in the decathlon at Emporia (Kansas) State University. He earned All-Academic honors for the Hornets all four seasons. He was a graduate assistant at Emporia State in 1999 and was a member of the coaching staff that won the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association men’s and women’s outdoor team championships. The Hornets went on to finish fourth at the women’s outdoor national championships.

“Our ability to attract a coach like Brandon Masters, who has been able to assemble a quality record at another high academic institution like Missouri S&T, shows how far the respect for UCCS Athletics has come,” Kirkham said.