Dan Waters Position: Head Coach

In the midst of his second season as head coach at Alabama, Dan Waters has overseen an almost complete makeover of the Crimson Tide's roster in his first two years in Tuscaloosa. Waters was named the head men's and women's track coach at the University of Alabama on May 11, 2011, after seven successful seasons at Texas A&M.

Waters and his staff have shifted the program's focus toward building a more verstatile, complete college track and field program. The impact of that focus has impacted every aspect of the team as the Crimson Tide now fields competitive athletes in all phases, with his 2012 recruiting class at Alabama ranking as the nation's third-best by Track & Field News magazine.

The makover of the Alabama track and field program hasn't been confined to the roster. Waters has overseen a complete refurbishing of the Sam Bailey Track and Field Complex, an $4.5 million overhaul that included a reconfiguration of the track oval, a complete resurfaccing, the addition of improved competition areas for the long and triple jump, as well as expanded and improved throwing cages for the throwing events. Those improvements have transformed an aging facility into one of college track's best venues in just one year.

In addition, Waters and his staff have developed some of the athletes they inherited, in some cases achieving drastic improvement while also overseeing some talented athletes that already were on the Tuscaloosa campus. In 2012, junior high jumper Krystle Schade and sophomore long jumper Kamal Fuller earned outdoor all-America honors. Schade won the 2012 Southeastern Conference indoor title and earned all-American honors in both indoors and outdoors.

Waters quickly set about changing the culture of Alabama track when he assumed the reins of the program in the summer of 2012, hiring an outstanding coaching staff that boasts an impressive history of collegiate and international success.

Prior to coming to Alabama, Waters served as recruiting coordinator and distance coach under the tutelage of legendary Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry. Waters was a key contributor on a coaching staff that led the Aggies to unprecedented success on the conference and national scene. The Aggies won six NCAA national championships including back-to-back-to-back men's and women's outdoor titles, a feat that had never before been accomplished.

The Aggie women won eight consecutive Big 12 titles in Waters' final four years (four indoor, four outdoor) while the A&M men claimed their first Big 12 Indoor title in 2001, the men's first conference indoor title since a Southwest Conference team title in 1980. Both programs were regularly ranked No. 1 by USTFCCCA over those years in both indoors and outdoors.

One of the nation's top distance coaches, Waters also served as the recruiting coordinator at A&M and assisted the process of upgrading the program's talent level to be consistently competitive on the conference and national level. His recruiting and coaching efforts were vital in the men and women each winning three consecutive NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2009, 2010 and 2011, as the program became just the second school to achieve the NCAA Championship double-double since LSU in 1989 and 1990 and the first to have both programs win three in a row.

Recent recruiting classes at A&M earned No. 1 rankings by Track & Field News. In fact, in 2009 both the men and women recruiting classes were chosen the top recruiting classes in the nation by the monthly magazine, becoming just the second school to earn that acclaim in the 15-year history of Track & Field News ranking collegiate classes. The Aggie women also enjoyed a three-year run as the No. 1 class, from 2007 to 2009, becoming the first women's program to achieve the feat.

A strong administrator and organizer, Waters has overseen management of championship events including the 2009 and 2011 NCAA Indoor Championships, 2009 Big 12 Indoor Championships, and 2003 Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championships.

In cross country, Waters earned the Men's South Central Region Coach of the Year honor in 2008 when A&M won the team title during the region meet and qualified for the NCAA Championships. It was the first time in 18 years that a team defeated powerhouse Arkansas for the region title. Waters also qualified 16 individuals to the NCAA Cross Country Championships over the past 15 years. The region title the Aggie men claimed in 2008 was the school's first since 2003 and just the sixth overall by an A&M team. Waters was the first coach on Henry's staff to qualify a cross country team to the NCAA Championships.

Waters came to A&M in 2004 after three years overseeing the distance program at Georgia and five years at Texas Christian (TCU) in a similar capacity.

At Georgia, Waters led the Bulldogs men's team to the program's first appearance in the NCAA Cross Country Championships, as well as a team victory at the NCAA South Region Championships. In the SEC, the Georgia men placed second (the highest finish in school history) while the women matched their highest finish with a runner-up effort. On the track, Waters' distance runners broke seven school records.

At TCU, Waters helped the Horned Frogs to four Western Athletic Conference team championships (two indoor, one outdoor and one in cross country). The 2000 WAC cross country and indoor track crowns were the first team conference titles in TCU history. During his stay in Fort Worth, the Horned Frogs notched four top-four NCAA finishes and TCU was ranked No. 1 nationally by Trackwire.com in 2001. Among his athletes at TCU was Khadevis Robinson (1998 NCAA 800 meter champ), a two-time U.S. champion that competed in the 800 at the 2004 Olympic Games. Waters began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Texas from 1995-96.

Waters is married to the former Jennifer Miller. A standout runner at Kansas, Waters was the 1992 Big Eight champion in the 800 meters and ran a leg on KU's All-America indoor 3,200-meter relay in 1991. Elected the Jayhawks' team captain in 1993 and 1995, Waters was an Academic All-American in 1995.

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• Men's Track:
  2013 Individual Performance Summary (as of 5.2.2013) 
  2013 Media Guide
  2013 Team Performance Lists (as of 5.2.13) 
  UA Outdoor Records (as of 5.2.13) 
• Women's Track:
  2013 Individual Performance Summary (as of 5.2.13) 
  2013 Media Guide
  2013 Team Performance Lists as of (5.2.13) 
  UA Outdoor Records as of (5.2.13) 
• Men's Cross Country:
  2012 Results | 2012 Media Guide
• Women's Cross Country:
  2012 Results | 2012 Media Guide