DOUG CASE

Associate Head Coach

Sprints/Pole Vault

Ninth Season

Doug Case is entering his ninth season as UNI's associate head coach. Since returning to his alma mater in 1999, Case has led the Panthers' sprint and pole vault programs to new heights and national prominence.

The numbers speak for themselves. Under Case's guidance, UNI sprinters and pole vaulters have earned 33 All-America honors, including a national championship in the pole vault and 62 NCAA Division I national meet qualifiers. UNI sprinters and vaulters have dominated the Missouri Valley Conference over the last eight years, crowning 74 individual and relay conference champions.

In the past three seasons alone, Case's sprinters have racked up 20 MVC titles and 16 All-America honors. Six school sprint records fell in 2007.

When it comes to the pole vault, Case has built UNI into a national leader in the event. He developed three of the greatest vaulters in MVC history in Jacob Pauli, Andre Poljanec and Jarno Kivioja, a trio that claimed 12 MVC championships and eight All-America honors from 1999 to 2007.

Both Pauli, who claimed the pole vault national title at the 2001 NCAA Indoor Championships, and Poljanec competed at the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan. Pauli, who owns UNI's indoor and outdoor school records, also took third at the 2007 AT&T USA Outdoor Nationals.

Under Case's guidance, UNI vaulters have claimed five of the last eight MVC titles, both indoors and outdoors. In 2007, the Panthers finished 1-2-3 and took four of the top five spots in the MVC indoor pole vault and then claimed four of the top six spots at the outdoor conference meet. Jarno Kivioja claimed his second straight Valley indoor title, while Andre Poljanec took the outdoor crown for the third consecutive season.

Poljanec earned the third All-America honor of his career at the NCAA Indoor Championships, and was the nation's No. 1-ranked vaulter outdoors heading into regional competition. Kivioja concluded his career with a berth in the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

The 2007 season also was a strong campaign for UNI's sprinters, with Case's guidance propelling the Panthers to a No. 5 ranking in Track & Field News' relay rankings and a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

That included a ranking of fifth for the sprint medley team and a No. 8 rating for the 4x400 relay, in which UNI earned All-America status both indoors and outdoors. The Panther team of Cory Goos, Terrance Reid, Tyler Mulder and Ryan Grenko finished sixth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a school-record time of 3:04.13.

In all, Case's sprinters have set school records in 10 events since 2001, including the 7.81-second effort by Jarrel Anderson in the 60 hurdles in 2007. He also guided Dirk Homewood to a career that included four All-America honors and school records in the 200 and 400 meters, both indoors and outdoors.

In 2005, Panther sprinters received 11 All-America honors, broke nine school records and had a total of 13 NCAA national meet qualifiers. In addition, the men's 4x400 meter relay team finished third at the NCAA Indoor Championships, running the seventh fastest time in NCAA history. The 4x400 relay went on to finish eighth at the outdoor championships in a race that had the top five performances in NCAA history.

Prior to his return to UNI, Case spent the previous three seasons as the men's head coach at Drake University. Under his guidance, Drake set three school records during the indoor season, and its distance medley relay team placed ninth at the NCAA Championships.

Before coaching at Drake, Case served as an assistant track and cross country coach at Arkansas State where, during his tenure, ASU's men's and women's programs won nine Sun Belt Conference titles. At ASU, Case was responsible for recruiting 52 outdoor and 49 indoor individual conference champions. His recruiting classes included 39 NCAA Division I national qualifiers, four All-Americans, seven Olympic Trials qualifiers and three Olympians.

A former Panther standout as a sprinter, Case established eight school records between 1982 and 1986 and was an all-conference performer in the Mid-Continent Conference. He was a member of the school record-setting 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 outdoor relay teams, as well as the 4x400 indoor relay. Individually, he twice placed second at the AMCU meet in the 100 meters.

"I guess I'm fortunate that as an assistant coach here in the early '80s, Doug was one of the first guys I signed," UNI head coach Chris Bucknam said. "I couldn't be more thrilled that we're working together today because he does such a phenomenal job. He's truly one of the most underrated coaches in the country, and I think one of the best."

A native of Marshalltown, Iowa, Case received his bachelor's degree and degree from UNI in 1987 and then served as a graduate assistant with the Panthers in 1988 and 1989. He and his wife, Chris, reside in Cedar Falls with their four children, Kelsey, Lauren, Cameron and Regan.

The Case File

Education:

- B.A. Physical Education, UNI, 1987

Coaching Experience:

UNI Associate Head Coach, 2000-Present

Drake Men's Head Coach, 1997-1999

Arkansas State Assistant Track and Cross Country Coach, 1990-1997

Honors:

- Set eight UNI school records as a student-athlete, 1982-86

- Mid-Continent all-conference performer

- Has coached one national champion and 33 all-Americans