Fairfax, Va. — George Mason Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics Brad Edwards announced Randy Bungard as associate head coach for track and field. He brings to Fairfax more than 25 years of NCAA Division I coaching experience, most recently the past three seasons as the assistant track and field coach in the Big Ten at Penn State University.
"We are very excited to bring in Randy as a member of our staff and the Patriot family,” head track and field coach Andrew Gerard stated. “Athletically, he's had success at the highest levels of our sport. Our athletes will be well served with his technical knowledge and coaching expertise; he brings instant credibility. Academically, his history includes tremendous institutions, so I know he understands and embraces our culture of academic excellence. And personally, he brings a wealth of experiences and outstanding character to our program. I couldn't be happier in introducing him as our new Associate Head Coach."
Throughout his career, Bungard has worked with some of the top collegiate track and field programs in the country, 11 years as the Director and Head Coach of Track and Field/Cross Country at the University of Virginia, four years at the helm at Texas A&M University—Corpus Christi, and coaching stops at the University of Texas, and Clemson University. He started his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at East Tennessee State University in 1987.
The Virginia native has coached numerous NCAA Champions and nearly 100 All-Americans. Recently at Penn State overseeing Lion sprints, hurdles and relays contingent, he coached 18 First Team All-Americans and 19 Second Team All-Americans as the Lions claimed three Big Ten Championships; 2013 Outdoor and 2014 Indoor and Outdoor Championship. He was voted the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Women's Assistant Coach of the Year three times at Penn State.
“I'm really excited to be back in Virginia,” commented Bungard. “George Mason is a program that I have always respected and admired. This University has a great track and field heritage and I look forward to helping Coach Gerard, and the rest of the staff, cultivate that and continue to move this program forward. I'm excited to get to Fairfax and go to work.”
In four years in Corpus Christi, Bungard coached nine Southland Conference Champions, as well as 37 All-Conference performers. He also led Islander athletes to 48 school-record performances.
While in Charlottesville, he built the program into a contender in the Atlantic Coast Conference, experiencing victories at the ACC Men's Cross Country Championships in 2005 and 2007. He was responsible for 33 All-America finishes, as well as 34 ACC Champions. Bungard earned top accolades for his success, named the ACC Men's Track and Field Coach of the Year in 2001, and was voted the Southeast Region Men's Track and Field Coach of the Year the same season.
In just two years at the University of Texas, Bungard assisted in coaching 11 NCAA Champions and 50 All-Americans. He was part of a Longhorn women's program that finished third at the 1996 NCAA Indoor Championship and second-place finishes at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships in 1997 as well as runner-up in 1996 Indoor.
Early on in his coaching career, he spent several successful seasons at Clemson University, overseeing 11 All-Americans and 22 ACC Champions as an assistant for the women's program from 1988-1983. The Tigers won ACC titles during the 1991 outdoor season and 1992 indoor season.
He has coached athletes in all event areas in track and field, including Olympian Kim Graham, who was a member of the USA's gold-medal 4x400-meter relay at the 1996 Olympic Games. She was also the U.S. 400-meter champion in 1998. While at East Tennessee State, Bungard coached Angela Baker, medalist in the shot put at the 1988 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Bungard earned a B.S. in Education from Virginia Tech University in 1987, before completing his M.Ed. at East Tennessee State in 1988.
Randy Bungard Coaching Experience
Assistant Men's and Women's Track and Field Coach at Penn State University 2012-
Head Men's and Women's Track and Field Coach at Texas A&M—Corpus Christi, 2008-2012
Director and Head Men's and Women's Track and Field Coach at University of Virginia, 1997-2008
Assistant Women's Track and Field Coach at University of Texas, 1995-1997
Assistant Men's and Women's Track and Field Coach at University of Virginia, 1993-1995
Assistant Women's Track and Field Coach at Clemson, 1988-1993
Volunteer Assistant Track and Field Coach at East Tennessee, 1987-88
