NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Trevecca Nazarene University announces the hiring of Dean Cole as the new head coach of the Trojan men's and women's cross country teams which will begin competing in the fall of 2010.

"I am very excited that Dean Cole has accepted the head coach position for our inaugural men's and women's cross country teams," says TNU Athletic Director Brenda Patterson. "He has a firm commitment to the mission of TNU Athletics as well as to the university's mission. Dean's wealth of experience will bring great leadership as we begin to develop a very competitive cross country program."

Since 2005, Cole has been the head coach of the girls cross country and track & field teams at Franklin Road Academy. From 1999 to 2005 he was the head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach for both boys and girls at Midland Valley High School in Graniteville, S.C. He is a USA Track & Field (USATF) level-I certified track and field coach and was a three-year letterman in cross country at Fairmont East High School in Kettering, Ohio.

Trevecca President Dan Boone knew immediately what direction he hoped the search for a Cross Country coach would lead, "When the decision was made to start Cross Country at Trevecca, Dean Cole was the first person who came to my mind. He is a Christian leader, a lover of the sport, and a remarkable mentor for young women and men."

Cole graduated from Regents College (USNY) in Albany, N.Y., with an A.S. in liberal arts 1987 and B.S. in sociology in 1993. He served in the United States Navy from 1979-1988. He and his wife, Debra, reside in Nashville and have three grown children. Two of his children are recent Trevecca graduates. His younger son, Daniel, graduated from Trevecca in 2007 and now works as a Metro Police Officer; his daughter, Jennifer, graduated from Trevecca in 2004 and recently passed the Tennessee Bar Exam. His older son, Robby, is a 2001 graduate of the University of South Carolina and is in the United States Coast Guard, stationed in Houston, Texas.

He will start in his new position in the fall of 2010 when Trevecca begins cross country competition again for the first time since the program was originally disbanded in 1978. Prospective athletes should contact Coach Cole at 615-945-2478 or at colefamilyfoundation@gmail.com.