UT Alum Tony Nicolosi Named Head Coach of Cal State East Bay Cross Country, Track & Field Teams

HAYWARD, Calif. - Director of Athletics Joan McDermott has named former University of Tampa standout Tony Nicolosi as head coach of the Cal State East Bay men's and women's cross country and track and field teams.

Nicolosi has spent the last three years as an assistant coach at Western State Colorado University, one of the top programs in Division II. He will succeed Ralph Jones, who stepped down following the 2014-15 season after five years at CSUEB to relocate with his family to the East coast.

"We're thrilled to welcome Tony to our Pioneer family," said McDermott. "He comes from one of the most successful programs in the country, and he brings with him a championship culture. Tony's energy and hard-working attitude will be an outstanding fit here at East Bay."

At Western State Colorado, Nicolosi was responsible for training, recruiting, fundraising, and meet operations. He helped guide the Mountaineer men's cross country team to a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) championship in 2013 and top-five finishes at the NCAA championships each of the last two seasons. On the women's side, he helped the squad capture back-to-back second place finishes at the NCAA South-Central regionals.

Nicolosi had similar success assisting with Western's track and field programs. In 2014-15, the men's team swept the indoor and outdoor RMAC championships and took 10th place at the NCAA indoor championships. Over the last two years, he has coached seven individual All-Americans in track and field to go along with four in cross country.

"I'm very excited to be joining East Bay, and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to lead a program that has so much potential for growth in the California Collegiate Athletic Association and at the national level," said Nicolosi. "I'm looking forward to meeting the members of our team and beginning the process of building a special program."

Prior to his stint in Colorado, CSUEB's new head coach spent one season at Nova Southeastern University as a graduate assistant. Nicolosi made the most of his time there, managing the training, practice plans, and race strategy for both cross country squads. That year, the men's team captured Sunshine State Conference (SSC) and NCAA South region titles for the first time in school history, and the women's team produced the program's first-ever individual SSC champion.

Before taking his position at NSU, Nicolosi coached cross country and track and field for five years at Seminole High School in his hometown of Seminole, Fla., where he produced three state medal winners and led the boy's cross country team to three straight state championship berths.

Nicolosi earned his bachelor's degree in sports management with a minor in economics from the University of Tampa in 2010. He had a remarkable collegiate career as a distance runner for the Spartans, graduating as the first male runner in program history to earn First Team All-Conference honors all four years. He qualified for NCAA Division II championships twice in cross country, placed third at the NCAA South regionals as a senior, and set the school's 8k record (24:52). He also established program records in the 3k (8:41), 5k (15:07), and 10k (31:30) for the track and field team.

Nicolosi's Pioneer cross country teams will open the 2015 season on Saturday, Sept. 5 with the USF Invitational at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, the site of the 2015 CCAA championships.