Northern Arizona University’s cross country program has been awarded yet another Big Sky accolade. Eric Heins, director of Track and Field and Cross Country, has been selected as the Big Sky Conference Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year. The 2013 recipients were chosen in a vote by the league’s coaches earlier this week.
This is Heins’ seventh consecutive Coach of the Year award, the most consecutively won by any men’s or women’s Big Sky coach.
“The credit goes to the athletes getting the job done and to the rest of the coaching staff,” Heins said. “It feels great to be a part of something so special. We have a great system and we have been able to bring in some great student-athletes.”
Heins began his coaching career as an assistant with Indiana in 2000, after which he served as a graduate assistant under Ron Mann from 2001-03 at NAU. From NAU he moved on to Southeast Missouri State for three seasons, where he coached teams to a total of six Ohio Valley Conference Championships. Heins was an assistant coach at Texas Christian University for one season before coming back to NAU in 2007 to become the head cross country coach. Heins was promoted to director of Track and Field and Cross Country in 2010.
NAU cross country will compete next at the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships, to be held in Ogden, Utah on Nov. 15.