MARIETTA, Ohio – Marietta College Director of Athletics Larry Hiser announced the hiring of
Eric Putnam as the Pioneer's Head Men's and Women's Cross Country and Track & Field Coach. Putnam comes to Marietta after successful career at Shawnee State University.
"Eric is a well-established and highly-regarded coach in southern Ohio. He has a proven track record of attracting talent and making it even better," Hiser said. "The opportunity at Marietta came along at the right time for him and we are fortunate to have a coach with his experience join us. We look forward to both the men's and women's teams getting bigger and stronger over the next couple of seasons."
With the Bears, Putnam put together a championship-caliber program. His men's cross country teams won the Mid-South Conference championship the last seven years and had seven top-10 finishes in the NAIA National Championships. He had also led his women cross country teams to numerous conference championships and one top-10 finish (9th place in 2017) in the national finals. An excellent recruiter as well, Putman coached many individual national finishers and many All-American qualifiers during his tenure.
As the Shawnee State track and field coach, Putnam grew the program from club sport status when Shawnee State transitioned to the NAIA. In a short timeframe, he oversaw numerous conference championships for both squads and sent many qualifiers to the national championships.
"I am beyond excited to be a part of the Marietta College athletic department and work at such a prestigious institution," said the newly hired coach. "Marietta College has a number of pieces in place to be a successful track and cross country program."
Putnam also enjoyed a very decorated running career as a collegiate athlete. A graduate of Ohio University, he ran cross country and track for the Bobcats, earning seven varsity letters. He earned All-Mid-American Conference honors seven times and was the individual MAC champion in the 1,500-meter run in 1996, running 3:48. He was co-MVP of the team in 1996 and was a three-time team captain.
Putman graduated from Ohio University in 1996 and then earned his Master's in Sports Administration from Xavier University in 2003 while he was serving as assistant coach for their running programs.
To this day, Putman still enjoys running on a competitive basis. He was the 2005 Run Ohio Grand Prix Co-Champion in 2005 and the 2006 Huntington Half Marathon Champion with a time of 1:09:04.
Fans can follow the Pioneers all season long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.
