Chris Neal 2024-25 Track and Field Staff

The Notre Dame Hatherly-Piane Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Matt Sparks announced the addition of Chris Neal to the staff as Assistant Track & Field and Cross Country Coach. Starting with the 2024-25 academic year, Neal was promoted to head men’s cross country coach while continuing his responsibilities as an assistant track & field coach.

“After taking an extensive evaluation into the coaching circles, we discovered Chris Neal to be a great fit for our program and University,” said Sparks.  “He has a deep knowledge of the sport and what it takes to win at an elite level.  I look forward to working with Coach Neal as we work together to continue to build upon the success of the men’s program.”

“While working at Furman the last 10-years, the team has developed into one of the most well respected NCAA distance programs.  Chris has worked with multiple individuals who have finished in the top 5 at the NCAA Championships as well as numerous team finishes in the top 15 at Nationals.”

Neal has most recently coached ten NCAA Cross Country Championship team qualifiers with four top-15 finishes. He has also coached his teams to 18 Southern Conference Team Cross Country titles, nine men titles and nine women’s titles. In 2017, Neal coached the Furman program to be the NCAA Cross Country Southeast Regional Team Champions. 

In his time at Furman, Neal has led 133 individuals to All-Southern Conference Cross Country honors. There were also 47 student-athletes named USTFCCCA All-Regional Cross Country, and 20 NCAA All-Americans. He also coached athletes to break 30 school records.

During his tenure, Neal coached 56 student-athletes to NCAA Track and Field first round qualifiers and 28 individual NCAA Track and Field Finals qualifiers. Included in those qualifiers is Allie Buchalski, the NCAA 2nd place finisher in the 5,000m Championship in 2018, and Aaron Templeton the 5th place finisher at NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2018.

Prior to his time at Furman, Neal spent 2008-2012 at Ohio State as the Head Women’s Cross Country Coach and Assistant Track and Field Coach. The Buckeyes were the 2011 and 2012 Outdoor Track & Field Big 10 Champions, and for the first time in school history claimed the Big 10 title for the Indoor Track & Field Championships. Also a first for Ohio State was when Neal coached the team in 2009 to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

At Ohio State, Neal coached four individuals to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Eight student athletes earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors in that time. Neal also coached 36 student-athletes to make the Top-5 All-Time List.

Neal’s career has also included stops at Tulane University, where he was the Head Women’s Cross Country/Assistant Track and Field Coach, and the University of New Orleans, where he was the Head Cross Country/Assistant Track and Field Coach. While at Tulane, he coached an NCAA Championship Provisional Qualifier, a Louisiana Female Runner of the Year, and a Louisiana Freshman of the Year. At the University of New Orleans, Neal oversaw five total Sunbelt Conference individual champions across track and field and cross country, as well as two Sunbelt Conference record-setting times.

Neal began his coaching career at Model Laboratory School and Ball State University as a graduate assistant. A 2003 Eastern Kentucky University graduate, Neal earned a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and then went on to obtain a Master of Arts in Sport Administration from Ball State University in 2005.