Fayetteville, N.C. – Fayetteville State University will revive its women’s track and field program for the 2017-18 academic year with the hiring of Inez Turner as the new head coach.
“I am particularly excited about expanding the participation opportunities for prospective female student-athletes,” said Athletics Director Anthony Bennett. “It is a natural step to meet the interest and abilities of female athletes in our region.”
Inez Turner, the former head coach at Winston-Salem State University, will build a new program after leading the Rams for the past eight years. Turner, an eight-time Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Coach of the Year recipient, won the Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships in her first year at the helm for WSSU. She has coached her programs to nine conference titles: four women’s cross country, three women’s indoor track and field, one women’s outdoor track and field, and one men’s cross country.
“I am very excited to start this next chapter in my life, that is ordained by the highest supreme,” said Turner. “I thank God for what I have achieved at WSSU, but I am ready and excited for this new challenge.
“When I researched the area, the local schools, and the community, Fayetteville State is a great place to start a true track and field program from scratch. I enjoyed working for [Associate Athletics Director] Anthony Bennett at Winston-Salem State when I had to directly report to him. With the impact that he left at WSSU, it is a blessing to have another opportunity to work for him again.”
The sponsorship of women’s indoor and outdoor track and field will increase sports offered from six to eight female programs. FSU currently offers cross country, volleyball, basketball, bowling, tennis, and softball. The Department of Athletics is in discussions with local schools for facility usage.
“Our goal is to start modestly in the Fall of 2017 with cross country and begin competition in the Spring of 2018 with the new outdoor program,” added Bennett.
Recruitment of student-athletes will begin this summer. A contact form is available for women with aspirations in participating in women’s track and field for the Fayetteville State University Broncos at http://bit.ly/2rac8RF.
The Broncos women’s track and field team finished the 2000 CIAA Track & Field Championships in fifth place.
Founded in 1867, FSU is the second-oldest public institution in North Carolina. A member of the University of North Carolina System, FSU has more than 6,100 students and offers degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.