Assistant Coach Doug Molnar

A coach who has both competitive and coaching experience at the NCAA Division I level is the newest member of the cross country and track and field coaching staff at The University of Texas-Pan American.

Doug Molnar, who was the head men’s cross country coach and an assistant track and field coach at Kent State, and was the interim head women’s cross country coach while serving as an assistant track and field coach at Tennessee, is in his first year as a member of the Texas-Pan American coaching staff.

Molnar was the head men’s cross country coach and a track and field assistant coach at KSU from 1994 through 1996. He was the interim women’s head cross country coach and an assistant track and field coach at Tennessee between January and July, 2000.

Molnar came to Texas-Pan American after serving as a men’s volunteer assistant cross country and track and field coach at Tennessee for the last two years. During that time, he earned a Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Cultural Studies, concentrating on sports psychology.

A native of Lorraine, Ohio in the Cleveland area, Molnar earned All-State track and field honors and also played football at Admiral King High School before embarking upon a four-year career as a runner at West Virginia. Molnar served as team captain as a junior and a senior, earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1986, and remained in Morgantown to earn an MBA at West Virginia the following year.

Beginning his coaching career, Molnar accepted a position as a graduate assistant coach in track and field and cross country, earning a Master of Arts in Physical Education in 1992. He was a volunteer coach at Oberlin College, then returned to Kent State as the head men’s cross country coach and an assistant in track and field.

At Tennessee, Molnar was a volunteer cross country coach before serving as interim head cross country and assistant track and field coach for the women. He then moved to the men’s program and was a volunteer assistant while earning his doctorate.

At KSU, Molnar assisted with a team that finished 20^th at the 1995 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He also coached six conference champions, two relay teams that were ranked in the top ten by Track and Field News, and worked with athletes who represented the United States in several international competitions. At Tennessee, he worked with the men’s teams that won NCAA Division I championships in 2001 (outdoors) and 2002 (indoors), helped coach a team that finished second at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June, and assisted with a team that won the 2002 Southeastern Conference Championships.

“I’m very excited about having Doug on our staff,” said UTPA Head Coach Ricky Vaughn. “He has excellent credentials, having run for West Virginia when they were one of the top teams in the country, having been the head men’s cross country coach at Kent State, and the women’s head coach at Tennessee, and being a member of the staff with Tennessee’s men when they won two national championships. He has a strong background in distance running, and is also knowledgeable in sports psychology.”

“I’m pleased to be at UTPA, because this is a beautiful school with good facilities and great people to work with,” said Molnar. “UTPA is a diamond in the rough for building a great distance program. There are great distance runners in the Rio Grande Valley, which is an advantage as we build our distance running program, and the weather is great year-round.”