Jeff Bovee

Position: Head Coach Alma Mater: Arizona `93

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

During his tenure at ISU, Bovee has coached 49 All-Valley performers and 12 NCAA track & field regional qualifiers. Of those 49 all-conference performers, seven were crowned MVC Champions: Michelle Brunk (2009); Scott Krapf (2009); Women's Distance Medley Relay (2010); Women's Distance Medley Relay (2011); Mat Smoody (2011); Aisha Praught (2011); and Jess Husted (2011).

In 2009, he directed the women's cross country team to their highest MVC finish in school history, placing second overall. They followed up that performance with another second place finish in 2010. On the men's side, he coached the team to four-consecutive top-three MVC finishes, including second-place in 2007.

At the national level, he guided the women's cross country team to three top-13 finishes and the men's team to three top-12 finishes at the NCAA Midwest Regional. He has also shown his passion for academics, as his cross country teams have earned six U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic honors (Men: 2008, 2010; Women: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010).

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 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 & 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 & 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 & 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 three sons, Aidan (10), Jace (7) and Liam (2).