River Forest, Ill. - Dominican University athletics announced today the hiring of Zachary Hoover as the next head cross country and track and field coach effective immediately.

"I am very excited to build the current cross-country program and to start a new track and field program at Dominican University," Hoover said. "I am looking forward to fostering strong relationships with my team and serving the Dominican student athletes with an opportunity to prosper as  student-athletes and as a people."      

"Zach Hoover has been actively been involved in help building a program that has had 52 athletes in cross country and 105 in track while winning championships as an assistant coach at Lewis University," said Dr. John Planek Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. "As Dominican University begins on the path to building a cross country and track program both in roster size and competitiveness I am confident with his work ethic and knowledge of the sport he will help us achieve our goals."

Hoover was previously a graduate assistant at Lewis University from 2022-2023 where he earned a Master's in Organizational Leadership. During his time at Lewis, the men's cross-country team finished 29th in DII in 2022 and 21st in 2023 while winning the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) in 2023. He also assisted the women's cross-country program to their first-ever triple crown, winning the GLVC in Cross Country, Indoor Track, and Outdoor track during the 2022-2023 seasons. The women also finished 15th in DII and added another Conference title in his final Cross Country season with Lewis in 2023.

As an athlete, Hoover began his collegiate career with the University of St. Francis Illinois where he earned Freshman of the Year in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC). In his sophomore year, he helped his team earn a third place finish in the NAIA National Championship. His senior year at St. Francis he earned First Team All-American with a fourth place finish in the 10k. He totaled nine All-Conference finishes between Cross Country and Track with one conference title in the 5k. Hoover then finished his collegiate career in his first year of graduate school with Lewis University where he boasted a top-10 10k time in Lewis history with a 30:24.