Olympic Legend Carl Lewis Named Track Coach at University of Houston

The University of Houston named nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis as the university’s track and field coach Thursday. The university also named longtime assistant Will Blackburn as the Director of Track.

“Will and Carl are both incredible representatives and products of the University of Houston, Houston Athletics and our track and field programs,” Vice President for Athletics Chris Pezman said in a statement. “I am personally grateful for their leadership during this transitionary time. We are fortunate to have individuals of their caliber leading our program with Will doing so on the day-to-day side and Carl as head coach. They are two of the very best in the country.”

Lewis is one of the United States’s best Olympic athletes ever, accumulating nine gold medals and 10 medals overall between 1984 and ’88. Lewis spent his college career at the University of Houston, and he has spent the last eight years as an assistant coach on Houston’s Track and Field team.

"I am excited to continue with this staff on our journey to win a national championship," Lewis said. "We wanted to continue the legacy of Leroy Burrell and Tom Tellez and agreed this was the way to do it. Will and I have known each other for multiple years and are looking forward to leading this team to all the things we want to do and keeping the history and tradition of #HTownSpeedCity alive."

Lewis replaces Leroy Burrell, who left the University after 23 years as head coach for the same position at Auburn. Under Burrell’s leadership, Houston totaled 44 individual conference championships and included 15 NCAA Champions and 11 Olympians.