July 2, 2007

The University of Texas-Pan American Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced on Monday (July 2) that head men's and women's track and field and cross country coach Ricky Vaughn has been named Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Support and Student Services and will begin his duties immediately.

"I'm very excited about this opportunity to move into administration," said Vaughn. "This is a great place to begin my administrative career, and I'm very grateful to Scott Street and the search committee for thinking of me as the right person to take over this area."

"We hate to lose a great track and field coach, but at the same time, we believe that we are gaining a tremendous person to lead our academic department. He's had many All-Americans during his time, and we are excited about him continuing that success with all of our student-athletes in their academic performances," said Director of Athletics Scott Street.

Vaughn spent the previous six seasons as the head coach of the UTPA men's and women's track and field and cross country programs where he guided the Broncs and Lady Broncs to national prominence in both sports. In his tenure as head coach, Vaughn developed nine All-Americans with two of them earning multiple honors in Westly Keating (Pharr, TX/University of Texas) and Will Littleton (Cuero, TX/Angelo State University).

The newly-named Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Support and Student Services will hang up his coaching cleats after 17 years in the profession that included stints at UTEP and nationally-ranked LSU. During his elite coaching career, Vaughn mentored six NCAA national champions, 42 All-Americans, 10 Western Athletic Conference champions, one NCAA South Central Regional champion and one Southeastern Conference champion to go along with one Olympian.

In the Rio Grande Valley, Vaughn played an integral role in the resurgence of the UTPA men's and women's track and field programs as 21 Broncs and 18 Lady Broncs broke program records during his tenure as head coach.

While his credentials on the track have been impressive, it's the work off of the field of competition that has made Vaughn stand out as the Broncs and Lady Broncs have both been recognized for their accomplishments in the classroom and in the Rio Grande Valley. The UTPA men's and women's track and field programs have been praised around the State of Texas for their hard work and dedication in the Rio Grande Valley and were selected as the RGV Group of the Year for their role in the Adopt-A-Highway Program in the Spring of 2004.

The Broncs and Lady Broncs have been equally as successful in the classroom under Vaughn's watch as the UTPA men's and women's track and field programs have had 256 student-athletes earn a grade point average of 3.0 of higher during the academic campaigns.

In his new role as the Assistant Athletic Director for Academic Support and Student Services, Vaughn will be responsible for implementing and monitoring the academic progress of UTPA's 170 student-athletes while overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Student-Athlete Learning Center and its support staff. Vaughn will coordinate academic and personal advising of the Bronc and Lady Bronc student-athletes; serve as the liaison with UTPA's academic offices and support services.

The University of Texas-Pan American Department of Intercollegiate Athletics will begin a national search for a new head men's and women's track and field and cross country coach.

UTPA Sports Information