Arizona track and field and cross country head coach Fred Harvey is retiring after 38 years at the university.
Harvey has spent the last 23 seasons leading the Arizona track and cross country programs, after 15 years previously as an assistant and associate coach.
Harvey will retire at the conclusion of the outdoor track season. The NCAA Outdoor Championships begin next week and end in mid-June.
“I am honored to have been one of only four head coaches of the Track & Field program at the University of Arizona since 1951,” Harvey said in a statement. “During that time, I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the greatest leaders in athletics history, including Cedric Dempsey, Jim Livengood, Rocky LaRose, Greg Byrne, Erika Barnes, and Dave Heeke. I am especially honored to have had the opportunity to work alongside the next great leader of Arizona Athletics, Desiree Reed-Francois. She continues to make meaningful, long-lasting contributions to the University and the Tucson community, and I am grateful for the opportunities I’ve had under her leadership.”
Reed-Francois said Arizona is launching a national search for the school’s next track and cross country head coach.
“Coach Harvey’s transition marks a new chapter for Arizona Track and Field/Cross Country and the department remains committed to finding a leader who will build upon the program’s tradition of excellence, foster a culture of accountability and integrity, and provide championship-level experiences for student-athletes,” Reed-Francois said.
Under Harvey, Arizona’s track and cross country programs produced 11 individual national champions, 160 All-Americans and 14 Olympians.
The Arizona track and field program was competitive in the Pac-10/12 for the duration of Harvey’s career as head coach. In 2011 he earned Pac-10 Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year honors after leading both teams to runner-up finishes at the Pac-10 Outdoor Championships and top-10 national finishes at NCAAs.
In Arizona’s first year in the Big 12, the Wildcats finished eighth in both the men’s and women’s conference outdoor championships.
With Harvey’s retirement, the longest-tenured coach at Arizona is Jim Anderson, who has coached the Wildcats men’s golf team since 2012.