SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 8, 2024) - Western New England University's (WNE) Director of Athletics and Recreation, Jennifer Kolins, has announced the addition of Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field as the University's 22nd and 23rd varsity sports. Competition will begin on both the men's and women's sides in the 2024-2025 school year.
"I am pleased to share that we are continuing to build upon our highly competitive and established athletic program at Western New England University with the addition of the men's and women's track and field teams," said Kolins. "Our cross-country teams have garnered great success through the years, and we are thrilled to provide expanded opportunities with a track and field program."
Jon Harris, head coach of Western New England University's men's and women's cross-country teams, is expanding his responsibilities to serve as Director of Cross-Country and Track and Field. Additionally, he will assume the role of Head Coach for the Track and Field programs. While continuing to coach the cross-country teams during the fall season, Harris will also oversee the track and field program during the spring.
"The addition of men's and women's track and field teams at Western New England is huge news as we have been a cross-country-only program for the last 25 years. I am excited for what the future holds and am looking for student-athletes to help get this new endeavor off the ground," said Harris.
There are currently 271 men's outdoor track and field teams and 279 women's outdoor track and field teams in NCAA Division III. The Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) sponsors outdoor track and field, with eight core CCC schools also sponsoring the sport. Western New England University will join Endicott College, Gordon College, Nichols College, Roger Williams University, Suffolk University, the University of Hartford, the University of New England, and Wentworth Institute of Technology for both the men's and women's teams.
This is the third and fourth sports in the last five years that Western New England University has added, along with women's ice hockey and women's wrestling. With two additional teams added, Western New England Athletics is now offering 23 varsity sports: 11 men's teams and 12 women's teams.
Coach Harris joined the Western New England cross-country program in the Fall of 1999 for his first year as a student-athlete on the WNE squad. He represented the Golden Bears at the NCAA Regional Championship in all four of his competitive seasons and was a three-year captain of the team. During his senior year, the men's team won its first ever GNAC conference championship. Harris graduated from the University in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.
Following his time as a student-athlete, Harris joined coach Brian Walsh's staff as an assistant for the men's and women's cross-country teams and served in that role for 18 years. During that time, he helped the Golden Bears secure multiple GNAC conference championships for both the men and women. While serving as an assistant at WNE, he also returned to his hometown of Monson, where he has been the head coach of the high school boy's track and field program since 2009, as well as the girl's team since 2019. Harris' Monson High teams have been very competitive within Western Massachusetts and at the state level. As one of the smallest schools in the area, the Monson High Mustangs were able to secure multiple league championships as well as a boy's Western Massachusetts Team Championship in 2017. Harris' high school program has also produced multiple district and state individual champions and sent athletes off to continue their track and field careers at all levels of NCAA competition.
Harris moved into the role of head coach of the Western New England University men's and women's cross-country teams in 2021. In his first three seasons at the helm, both teams have shown steady improvement. The Golden Bears have taken home five invitational team victories in that time. Harris has led WNE's men's and women's cross-country teams to four top-five finishes each in the 2023 season. This included both squads finishing first at the inaugural Founding Tree Invitational and second place team finishes at the Steven A. Warde Invitational
Kolins shared this about Harris, "Coach Harris has been a constant positive presence at the University since he was a student-athlete, and I am excited to be adding track and field to his role as head coach. His impact to the cross-country teams have been immense, and his priority of holistic student-athlete development will now transcend to even more student-athletes at Western New England University."
