DAHLONEGA - Following an extensive national search, University of North Georgia Athletic Director Lindsay Reeves has announced that Chris England will be the next cross country and track coach at UNG. England most recently served as the head coach of Georgia State's cross country and track programs.
 
 "On behalf of our University community, we are extremely excited to welcome Chris, his wife Miriam, and kids Ewan and Nola to the Nighthawk Nation," stated Reeves. "Chris has a track record of success in each program he has touched as a student-athlete, assistant coach and now successful Division I head coach and his mentoring blueprint fits the UNG core values."

England comes from Georgia State in Atlanta where he led the Panthers for 10 years. Under his guidance, GSU won three individual Sun Belt Conference cross country titles with the most recent coming in 2019 as Lotte Meyberg won the conference meet. Under England's direction, the Panthers had multiple top-three team finishes in the Sun Belt Cross Country and Track & Field Championships throughout his tenure, including back-to-back second place finishes in 2014 and 2015.
 
England won the 2012 Sun Belt Coach of the Year award after guiding the cross country team to the league championship in the team's inaugural appearance in the league. He led top runner Katharine Showalter to the conference's individual championship as she went on to be the fourth Panther to compete in the NCAA Championship meet later that season.

"It is an absolute honor to be selected to be the next head coach of the University of North Georgia cross country and track programs," said England. "I am thrilled to be able to build upon UNG's already rich tradition of distance running and to bring home many future conference championship titles."

Prior to coming to the Peach State, England served as head coach at Murray State where he got the Racers' cross country team to a runner-up position in back-to-back years, the highest program finish in nearly two decades. He also helped lead the track program at Murray State to third place showings at the indoor and outdoor league championships in 2009, coaching the OVC Athlete of the Year in both indoor and outdoor.
 
England has also served as an assistant at his alma mater, Ohio State, and was the meet manager for the Jesse Owens Classic and the director of the OSU Cross Country Camp. Prior to returning to the Buckeyes, he was a graduate assistant in the athletics department at Wyoming and a volunteer assistant at Boise State.
 
Competing at Ohio State, England was a two-time All-American in 1997 in the indoor 5K and the outdoor 10K, earning multiple All-Big Ten accolades along the way. England still holds the Ohio State record in the 5K with a time of 13:43.42 and is second all-time in the 10K with a 29:01.29 and an indoor 5K time of 13:58.94.
 
After college, England ran professionally and trained full-time for the Olympic Trials. He was nationally ranked and competed in distances from the mile to the marathon in elite races across the country and the world, winning a USATF national title in 2006.
 
England served three years on active duty in the U.S. Army. During his military service, he competed on the All-Army cross country and track and field teams and was a member of the Army World Class Athlete Program (WCAP), representing the U.S. Armed Forces in competitions around the world.
 
England will begin his duties at UNG beginning on June 1.