Courtesy of Boise State Athletics

BOISE, Idaho – Pat McCurry has been named the head coach for the Boise State track and field and cross country teams, director of athletics Jeramiah Dickey announced, Monday.

McCurry, a former Bronco assistant from 2016-18, brings 15 years of collegiate head coaching experience, and becomes the sixth combined head coach in program history. Over his career he has continued to coach several world-class, post-collegiate athletes to international success. His success as a coach includes:

  • 21 U.S. Championship/Olympic Trials qualifiers
  • Five Olympic/World Championship qualifiers
  • Four International medalists
  • 11 NCAA national championship qualifiers
  • 14 NAIA national champions

“This is an exciting day for Bronco Nation as we welcome Pat McCurry as the new leader of our track and field and cross country programs,” said Dickey. “After an extensive national search with a massive amount of interest, Pat’s vision and passion to be a Bronco makes him the perfect fit.

“Pat’s experience as a head coach, his focus on student-athlete welfare and his proven record of success in guiding student-athletes to the highest level will continue to build on the history of this program. I am excited for What’s Next!”

McCurry returns to the Treasure Valley having experienced national success at the NAIA and NCAA Division I levels. He transformed the College of Idaho into one of the top NAIA programs during a 13-year head coach tenure, and he was the head coach at San Francisco from 2018-21.
In 2021 he founded Idaho Afoot to provide coaching and mentoring services, which included the 2022 Sal Mountain Mentorship Camp to connect female high school runners with elite athletes to cultivate a healthy relationship with sport and provide positive mentorship.

“I am honored to take on the responsibility of serving our student-athletes in this role, and I am extraordinarily thankful to Jeramiah Dickey and his staff for the opportunity to do that,” said McCurry. “Boise State has a decorated history in track and field, and I am eager to carry that torch toward building a program that makes our alumni and Bronco Nation proud.”

Outside of collegiate coaching, McCurry has coached several world-class athletes, including Lizzie Bird, Alycia Butterworth and former Bronco, Marisa Howard. A three-time All-American at Boise State, Howard was a silver medalist in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2019 Pan-American Games and has represented the United States at several international events.

Bird is the current British record holder in the 3,000m steeplechase – an event she placed ninth in at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Under McCurry’s tutelage, Butterworth represented Canada in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2017 IAAF World Championships.

McCurry is renowned for his work with middle-distance runners, a group he worked with in his tenure at Boise State. He recruited future NCAA 800-meter champion Kristie Schoffield to Boise State, and coached five national qualifiers while with the Broncos. Sadi Henderson was a four-time All-American in the 800m, reaching the national championship indoors and outdoors in 2017 and 2018.

During his tenure with the Dons, McCurry coached five athletes to the national championships – four of which earned All-America honors. Henderson (800m) and Dana Klein (1,500-meter) earned All-America honors outdoors in his first season on the Hilltop in 2018-19, while Aoibhe Richardson became the first athlete in school history to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2020 before the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Richardson would become an All-American in 2021 outdoors.

As the head coach at the College of Idaho, McCurry guided the women’s track and field team to four-consecutive Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships from 2013-16.On the national stage, McCurry led the men’s cross country team to 10 NAIA Championship appearances, including a seventh-place finish in 2015. The women’s cross country team enjoyed similar success, having qualified for eight straight NAIA Championships (2008-15) and two runner-up finishes in 2012 and 2013. The women’s team also finished third at indoor nationals in 2014.

Prior to coaching at the College of Idaho, McCurry was an assistant coach at Eastern Oregon. He helped his alma mater to a national runner-up finish at the 2002 NAIA Men’s Cross Country Championships.