SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – UC Santa Barbara Track and Field has announced their newest hire in PattiSue Plumer, who will serve as the associate head coach for the cross country and distance runners.
"I'm very excited we are able to hire someone with the accolades as an athlete and coach like PattiSue Plumer," said Director of Track and Field/Cross Country
Vijay Saxena. "I know she had opportunities at other universities as well, so our program is very lucky to have her. When we get a coach like PattiSue, it makes everyone on the roster better as well as increase the level of recruits we bring in. We wanted to send a message to The Big West and the state of California that the Gauchos are looking to make big moves in cross country!"
Plumer's most recent stop in her coaching career was at the University of Texas, where she was on staff for five seasons. She led the Longhorns to four NCAA Championships in cross country while coaching five All-Americans along the way. While she was with Texas, one of her athletes was named as the U20 National Champion in the 5K. Not only that, but she also guided athletes who landed in the Top 10 in the university's record books on over 25 occasions, including 12 broken records.
Prior to her time at Texas, Plumer was the head coach of the Stanford NIRCA Running Program for five years, where she trained national champions in the men's 5000m, 1500m and 4x800m relays. On the women's side, her team was crowned as the regional cross country champions. During that time, she was also the head cross country and track coach at Gunn High School where she coached state champions in the 1600 and in cross country. She also received Coach of the Year honors while leading her teams to numerous conference championships.
Her coaching career began at Stanford University where she was the associate head coach for the women's cross country program and assistant coach for the track and field program. In the year she coached the Cardinal, she finished with multiple All-Americans and NCAA Championship finalists. Along with that, Plumer had Junior National Champions in the 3K and indoor 3K while also coaching a U.S. Olympic Trials finalist in the 5K.
Before getting into coaching, Plumer had a successful career following her collegiate career at Stanford University. As a student-athlete with the Cardinal, she was a two-time NCAA Champion and held the university's records in the 1500, two-mile, 3K and 5K. She was also a 10-time All-American who locked in a spot in Stanford's Hall of Fame. As a professional athlete, Plumer was a two-time Olympian who ranked No. 1 in the world in the 3,000m and 5,000m.
"I'm thrilled for the opportunity to return to California to coach at UC Santa Barbara," Plumer said. "I have deep family ties to both Santa Barbara and the University and am excited to work with Coach
Vijay Saxena who is one of the best young coaches in track and field. Given my strong family connections, UC Santa Barbara's outstanding academic reputation, and the incredible weather and beach side setting, there is no better place to be coaching at this point in my career."
Plumer earned her bachelor's degree in 1985 from Stanford in earth sciences before earning her J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1989. She will begin in her role with the Gauchos immediately.
