Sept. 3, 2004

The George Mason women's track and field and cross country programs have added an assistant coach to fill the opening vacated when Tony Barton left in June. Head coach Angie Taylor is pleased to announce the hiring of Greg Sholars, effective immediately. Sholars comes to George Mason after a four-year break from coaching. He previously worked as a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch, but he brings a long and illustrious background as a coach and an athlete to the Patriots. Sholars began his coaching career at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, where he was a graduate assistant in 1989. He didn't stay there just one season before being hired as an assistant track and field and cross country coach at University of North Texas. Once again, it didn't take Sholars long before he moved up the ladder. His next stop was at the University of Florida, where he spent three seasons as an assistant strength coach and the coordinator of speed and conditioning. While there, he worked with the football, basketball, baseball and tennis teams. In 1992, Sholars returned to the track world, taking a position at the University of Texas. He was the head coach of the cross country team, an assistant with the women's track and field team and the recruiting coordinator for both programs. He was with the Longhorns through the 1995 season before being named the head track and field and cross country coach at Texas Tech University. He ran the men's programs in Lubbock through 1997 before taking over the women's track and field and cross country teams as well. He ran both programs from 1997 through 1999, when he left coaching to work as a financial advisor. At Mason, he will also coordinate recruiting for the women's track and field team. Sholars earned a bachelor's of science from Texas Christian University in 1989. While at TCU, he was a seven-time All-American, three times in the 100-meters, three times as part of the national championship 4X100-meter relay team. He also was part of the 4X200-meter relay team that set a world record at the Penn Relays in 1986. He was a sprinter on the U.S. National Team in 1984, 1988 and 1989 and he twice qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials, in 1988 and 1992. He is the Texas high school state record holder in the 100-meters and a member of the TCU Hall of Fame. As a strength coach, he worked with the 1992 NCAA tennis champions and 1991 SEC football champions. In track, he coached three national champions who combined to win six national titles and he has had athletes appear in the Olympics as well as the World Track and Field Championships.