University of California, Santa Barbara

Jason Zarb-Cousin joined the UC Santa Barbara Cross Country and Track & Field coaching staffs on August 22, 2023 as an assistant coach. Previously, he served two years as the head coach of the Loyola Marymount Men’s Cross Country and Track & Field programs.
 
In his two years at the helm, Zarb-Cousin helped student-athletes set school records in the 800 and the 3,000 steeplechase. Two Lion steeplechasers achieved national recognition under his guidance, with one taking home Second Team All-America honors and another finishing fifth at the USA Track & Field Under-20 meet. Zarb-Cousin also coached his cross-country runners to improve their 10k times by over a minute.  
 
Zarb-Cousin previously served as an assistant coach for the Lions from 2016 to 2020 and a volunteer assistant from 2005 to 2009. In those two stints, LMU saw first-ever qualifications for the NCAA Women’s Track & Field Championship (2006) and Men’s Cross Country Championships (2018). The Men’s and Women’s Cross Country programs achieved their highest and second-highest finishes at the NCAA West Regionals in program history, respectively.
 
Zarb-Cousin has also spent time as an assistant coach and director of operations at the Air Force Academy, from 2009 to 2011, and as an assistant coach at New Mexico State from 2013 to 2016. In between, he stepped into the professional ranks as coach of the Air Force Sports Cross Country and Marathon Team.
 
Zarb-Cousin is himself a graduate of the Air Force Academy and a retired Air Force officer, having served for two decades. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Basic Science with a Physiology emphasis from the Air Force Academy in 1999 and earned his Master of Arts in Physical Education from the University of Northern Colorado in 2003.
 
Zarb-Cousin is a native of Colorado Springs, Colorado. He and his wife, Melissa, have a daughter, Cosette.