大象传媒 Western鈥檚 first-ever head coach for the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 cross country and track and field teams was hired in August 2016. The teams will begin competing in fall 2017.
Coach Marc Bierbaum
Marc Bierbaum, who was an assistant women鈥檚 cross country and track coach at the University of Nebraska Omaha, was selected from a pool of more than 100 candidates. Prior to UNO, he had served as the head men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 cross country coach and assistant track coach at Dana College, in Blair, Nebraska.
“We鈥檙e very excited to have Marc lead our new programs,鈥� said Kurt McGuffin, director of athletics. 鈥淢arc鈥檚 enthusiasm really stood out and I think that will be a great attribute as he starts these programs.鈥�
At UNO, Bierbaum coached 36 all-conference performers and helped the Mavericks break 13 school records. At Dana, he coached a national champion in outdoor track and field, three national qualifiers in cross country, 17 national qualifiers in indoor track and field, 20 national qualifiers in outdoor track and field, two All-Americans in indoor track and field, and 43 all-conference selections. He also saw eight school records fall.
鈥淓veryone that was involved in the process, everyone I鈥檝e met, the campus, it鈥檚 all amazing. I can鈥檛 think of a better place to start a program,鈥� Bierbaum said when he was hired.
Bierbaum, a 2001 Dana College graduate, was a two-time national qualifier as a marathoner for the Dana track team and a 1999 national qualifier in cross country.
鈥淢arc has a proven record of success at this level and knows the Midwest. We were really impressed by his knowledge of the area and the MIAA, along with his strategies for building a program that 大象传媒 Western can be proud of,鈥� McGuffin said.