Cody Fleming, who spent six years as UC Santa Barbara’s Associate Head Track & Field Coach, has been selected as the school’s new Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, Director of Athletics John McCutcheon announced Thursday.
Fleming, whose first stint at UCSB ran from 2011-17, is returning to the school after two years as the California Director for UCS, Inc., a company that is the official track and field equipment supplier to U.S. Track and Field, and four Olympic Games.
“I am honored and excited to lead the track and field, and cross country programs at UC Santa Barbara,” Fleming said. “UCSB is a world-renowned university with a vibrant atmosphere. The student-athlete experience here is very unique and I can’t wait to get to work.”
“We are very pleased to welcome Cody back to UCSB,” McCutcheon said. “He has a very student-athlete centered approach and we believe that he is a perfect fit for our program.”
During his time with the Gaucho program, Fleming directly coached 18 Big West Conference champions in eight different events and had 44 competitors score at the league’s championship meet. He also guided 33 athletes to NCAA Regional appearances and six to the NCAA Championships, three of which were walk-ons. In addition to his on-track duties, Fleming was responsible for budget forecasting and travel coordination while being part of the impressive athletic accomplishments of teams under the direction of long-time former coach Pete Dolan.
Prior to arriving at UCSB, Fleming spent three years (2008-11) coaching at the University of Nevada where he helped field some talented field event squads in the Western Athletic Conference. Over the previous three seasons at Nevada, he coached 13 NCAA Regional qualifiers, 14 WAC medalists, 1 WAC Champion, 3 NCAA Championship qualifiers and one NCAA All-American.
Fleming competed at the University of Oregon and was a member of the Ducks’ 2005 Pac-10 Championship team, finishing fourth in the decathlon. Prior to Oregon he attended Lane Community College and won the Northwest Athletic Conference title in the discus and was runner-up in the decathlon. Fleming also got his coaching start at Lane CC where he was an assistant and adjunct instructor in 2007-08.
The native of Sparks, Nev., holds a CSCS certificate from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). He is a Corrective Exercise Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and has a Throws Specialist certification from the USTFCCCA.
Fleming also coached his wife Annett, who competed for her native country, Germany, in the heptathlon.
Fleming graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism and received his M.Ed. from the University of Missouri in Educational and Counseling Psychology.