Jeff Bovee

Last College: Arizona Position: Assistant Coach/Distance

Jeff Bovee, head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach, joined the Illinois State track and field and cross country programs in October 2006, after spending the three previous seasons as the head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach at Central College in Pella, Iowa.

In his first full season as the head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach, Bovee took the 2007 men's cross country team from an eighth-place finish in 2006 to a second-place finish in 2007, with three ISU members being named All-Missouri Valley Conference. While also taking the women's team, which finished seventh in 2006, to a fourth-place finish only a year later, with Suzy Turner running to All-Valley status.

Bovee's impact has also carried over into the track and field season. Under his guidance, Suzy Turner reach her full potential in her final season as a Redbird. Turner earned her first All-Missouri Valley Conference status, four times in track and field, by setting personal-bests in every event that she competed in and cutting three minutes off her personal-best from 2007 in the 10,000-meter run to place second and break the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championships record with a time of 35:42.80.

On the men's side, the Redbird distance runners made huge strides, with every 800-meter runner setting a personal-best performance. Four 1,500-meter runners also clocked personal-bests and ran the event in under four minutes. While, Bovee also coached junior Scott Krapf to three all-conference track and field performances, including a personal-best and top Valley season performance in the 10,000 with a time of 29:48.09.

Working with student-athletes to specifically devise individual training programs to maximize their performance, while also recruiting top distance runners from high school, have been the keys to Bovee's success.

During his tenure at Central College, Bovee coached four NCAA Division III All-Americans in track, one cross country All-American, as well as eight NCAA Championships qualifiers. In addition, he coached runners that earned United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III All-Region honors five times.

Prior to coaching at Central College, Bovee was the head track and field and cross country coach at Parkland Junior College in Champaign, Ill., from 1996-2000. Bovee guided the men's and women's track and field and cross country teams to 12 regional titles. Bovee's teams also placed in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) top-five in cross country and the top-15 in track and field during his final two seasons. More than 30 of Bovee's student-athletes earned junior college all-American status, and 15 were named academic All-Americans.

His successful tenure at Parkland also included coaching the NJCAA Women's Cross Country Individual National Champion in 1999.

A native of Glendale, Ariz., Bovee received a bachelor's degree in physical education from Arizona in 1993, where he competed as a student-athlete in track and field and cross country. Bovee was the co-captain of the Wildcat track and field team for two seasons, and was a Pac-10 Conference placewinner in the 800-meters in track and an NCAA National Meet participant in cross country.

Bovee received his master's degree in physical education from Eastern Illinois in 1996, while he worked with the men's and women's track and field programs as a graduate assistant from 1995-96.

Bovee holds a USTFCCCA Level I certification in coaching and officiating. He is also a member of the American Alliance for Health Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) and the USTFCCCA. Currently, Bovee is working towards a doctoral degree of philosophy in pedagogical kinesiology at Illinois.

Bovee and his wife, Tracy, reside in Normal, Ill., with their two children, Aidan and Jace.