Jeff Bovee

Position: Head Coach Alma Mater: Arizona `93

In October 2006, Jeff Bovee was named the head cross country coach and an assistant track & field coach in charge of distance at Illinois State, after spending the previous three seasons as the head cross country coach and assistant track & field coach at Central College in Pella, Iowa.

Since then, the 2011 Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Coach of the Year has coached the distance crew to 62 All-Valley performances, including 12 Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championships:

His best year at the helm of training the distance runners came in 2011-12, where he led the women's cross country team to its first-ever conference title since the Gateway Conference was absorbed by the Missouri Valley Conference in 1992. This conference title came after years of building a successful women's program which finished second in 2009 and again in 2010. From 2007-10, he coached the men's team to four-consecutive top-three finishes in the Valley, with its best finish coming in 2007 when they placed second.

In addition to their All-Valley performances in cross country in 2012, Elise Sigg and Praught went on to finish in the top-25 at the NCAA Division I Midwest Region Cross Country Championship, earning All-Midwest Regional honors, a first since Sue Daggett claimed regional and national honors in 1996.

That was carried over into the indoor track & field season where he played an intricate role in developing Praught, who became the first NCAA Qualifier on the track since Christian Goy in 2002. Praught broke every Illinois State and Missouri Valley Conference record in the mile, running a personal-best 4:37.77 en route to a NCAA Division I Runner-up performance at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Boise, Idaho.

At the conference level, Bovee coached the women's distance medley relay to its third-consecutive conference title, leading wire-to-wire to take home the crown. Praught followed with her own championship in the mile, before Smoody won his second-straight in the 800-meter run. In all, the distance runners turned in nine All-Valley performances, with the women's distance crew scoring a total of 69 points.

Bovee continued his coaching prowess on the outdoor track, as his runners claimed two conference titles and turned in four Valley performances. In the process, the crew produced five NCAA track & field regional qualifiers (four in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase), with Praught the only one moving on the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the steeplechase.

Bovee's guidance helped Praught to an Olympic trials qualification, after she ran a 9:51.30 at the prestigious Mt. SAC Relays in the steeplechase, breaking the MVC and Illinois State records, while holding down the No. 6 spot in the world for three-consecutive weeks. That time was the second-fastest time in the collegiate ranks all season.

Off the track, Bovee has also shown his passion for academics, as his cross country teams have earned seven U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic honors (Men: 2008, 2010; Women: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011). Individually, Praught was named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic team for her performances in 2011-12 and was also named Capital One Academic All-District V team in 2012.

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.

Bovee and his wife, Tracy, reside in Normal, Ill., with their three sons, Aidan (11), Jace (8) and Liam (3).