DES MOINES, Iowa – Head Track & Field and Cross Country Coach Jay Koloseus has departed his post in Des Moines to become an Assistant Track & Field Coach at the University of Arizona. He will also lead the Wildcats' cross country program while focusing on distance events during track season.
 
"We are grateful to Coach Koloseus for the eight years he gave to Drake Athletics," Drake director of athletics Brian Hardin said. "Jay's teams were excellent in the classroom, competition, and on our campus. He was a wonderful teammate in our athletics department and will sincerely be missed. We wish him all the best at Arizona."
 
Koloseus leaves Drake after a remarkably successful three-year stint as the Bulldogs' head coach of both men's and women's cross country and track and field programs. He came to Des Moines in 2017 as the program's assistant men's distance coach and recruiting coordinator and began his Bulldog tenure as the leader of the XC program and Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator for the track and field team following the 2019 season. Koloseus was elevated to head coach for men's and women's cross country and track and field in 2022.
 
Under Koloseus' tutelage, Drake produced 13 All-Americans including the 2023-24 NCAA mile runner-up Isaac Basten. Koloseus led the Bulldogs to eight Missouri Valley Conference records and an impressive 33 school records. Thirty-three Bulldog athletes also qualified for the NCAA West Region meet. He guided 32 MVC title winners and recruited seven MVC Freshmen of the Year during his tenure. On the cross country course, Koloseus coached a pair of men's teams to MVC championships in 2021 and 2023 while earning MVC Coach of the Year honors in both seasons.
 
"Over the last eight years, Jay has been a valuable member of the Drake Athletics department and Drake Relays Committee," said Blake Boldon, the Franklin P. Johnson Director of the Drake Relays and Director of Cross Country and Track & Field. "In addition to always bringing ideas and energy to the Drake Relays, numerous school records have been established during his tenure as head coach. The successes have been many and Jay is leaving Drake track and field and cross country on a very healthy trajectory."
 
Drake will begin an immediate national search for the next head coach of Drake Track & Field and Cross Country. The search will be led by Hardin, Senior Associate Athletics Director/Senior Woman Administrator Stephanie Sledge, and Senior Associate Athletics Director/Franklin P. Johnson Director of the Drake Relays Blake Boldon.