FLORENCE, ALA. – The University of North Alabama cross-country program will have a new leader at the helm as UNA Athletic Director Dr. Josh Looney announced the hiring of Evans Kiptoo as head coach for both the men and women's teams.
 
Kiptoo joins the Lions after previously serving in the dual role as the head cross country/track and field coach at Northwest Kansas Technical College. He will become the 14^th head coach of the men's program at UNA and the 13^th head coach for the women.
 
"I want to take this special moment to thank the University of North Alabama Athletics Director Dr. Josh Looney and the search committee for entrusting me to lead the UNA cross country program," Kiptoo said. "It is a great honor for me to join the Lions family. After visiting the school and meeting with the staff members, I felt welcomed. I am grateful for this opportunity, and together, along with everyone on our staff, will work very hard to help our student-athletes become successful. This includes helping them achieve success athletically, academically, and their social well-being."
 
He assumes the position after the five-year tenure of previous head coach Jeremy Provence, who departed the program after becoming the first head coach for the Lions at the Division I level. He'll help guide a program that has already seen success at the highest level, including a combined four ASUN Conference Runners of the Week and seven ASUN Conference Freshmen of the Week honors. The UNA women have had three second-team All-ASUN runners.
 
"Evans Kiptoo's championship history as a competitor, coach, and person will elevate North Alabama cross country at the Division I level," says UNA Director of Athletics Dr. Josh Looney. "Following a championship Division I distance running career at EKU, Coach Kiptoo joined the U.S. Army in pursuit of his professional goals of leading a collegiate running program and mentoring distance athletes. This impressive determination helped fuel the rapid development of Northwest Kansas Technical College into a national junior college distance-running power and has made Coach Kiptoo well-positioned to lead our distance programs to new heights. We are very pleased that Evans, his wife Jackline, and their two children, have chosen to become UNA Lions and welcome them to The Shoals!"
 
Prior to his coaching career, Kiptoo was an accomplished long-distance runner at the collegiate level. He was an All-American while at Lindenwood University in 2007 and continued the same success after transferring to Eastern Kentucky the following year, where he became a decorated cross country and long-distance track and field athlete.
 
He got his first experience in the coaching realm in 2012 after becoming the Graduate Assistant Coach at EKU where he helped Coach Rick Erdman in the Distance program with the team, qualifying for NCAA Cross-Country Championship. After fulfilling his military obligations in the U.S. Army, Kiptoo was named Northwest Kansas Technical College's Associate Head Cross Country and Distance Coach on July 1st, 2020. During the 2020 outdoor season, Kiptoo oversaw the development of Vincent Nchogu and Oliver Kiptoo, who was the NJCAA Nationals runner-up in 5000m and placed third in the 3000m Steeplechase. The Distance Medley Relay team also placed 3rd at Nationals that year.
 
Following the success with the program, he was promoted to Head Cross Country/Track Distance Coach the following year on July 1st, 2021, and led the Cross-Country Team to the highest finish in program history that year, with mentee Vincent Nchogu leading the way. He won two NJCAA National titles in 5000m and 10000m, respectively, and the Half Marathon, with the team finishing 5th in the NJCAA National Championship and 2nd in the NJCAA National Half-marathon Championship, producing multiple all-Americans. Other awards during that season included Nchogu as the Central Region Male Athlete of the Year and Coach Kiptoo as the Central Region USTFCCC Cross Country Coach of the Year.
 
In 2022 he took over both cross-country and track and field programs at Northwest Tech, producing three All-Americans, a 5000m national champion and regional champion, and a High point athlete during the 2022 Indoor season. The 2022 outdoor championships saw Coach Kiptoo continue his success, producing two All-Americans in 10,000m and 5000m, one All-American in the 3000m Steeplechase, and another national champion in the 10,000m. The team finished seventh at Nationals, making it the best finish in the program's history.