Ralph Jones enters his fourth season as Cal State East Bay's Head Cross Country and Track and Field Coach in 2014-15. A former student-athlete and assistant coach at Morgan State, Central Arizona College and Wilmington College, Jones has been coaching for over 15 years. While at Morgan State he helped to coach 15 regional qualifiers in cross country and five school record holders in track and field over a span of four years with the Bears.
In 2013-14, Jones coached cross country runner Sarah Perrin to CCAA Freshman of the Year and All-Conference honors and track and field athlete Lauren McGlory to various historic accomplishments in the long and triple jump. Lauren made history in 2014 as the first East Bay track and field athlete to score at the NCAA championships in over two decades. Her fourth place finish in the triple jump earned her All-American status. McGlory set two new school records with jumps of 42 feet, 10.5 inches in the triple jump and 19 feet, 6 inches in the long jump.
Jones was also active in the community In 2014 as he hosted the first ever Legacy track and field meet at Chabot College. The meet was attended by over 900 athletes and it honored nine legendary coaches in Pioneer track and field history. A week later, the department ran the second annual 5K at East Bay on the CSUEB campus and reached maximum participant capacity (300).
In the summer of 2013 Jones served as host to over 250 coaches from around the country on the campus of Cal State East Bay for the 2013 USATF Level 2 coaching education certification school. It was the first time in the history of the program that a Northern California school hosted the week-long event. In January of 2011, 2012, and 2013, Jones served as an instructor for the USATF Level I Coaching Academy in Hayward. In 2012 he was one of four coaches selected to receive a scholarship to attend the USATF/IAAF Academy Course for sprints and hurdles. Jones earned his Level 3 coaching certification after completing the course, which is the highest distinction a track and field coach can earn and identifies one as a Master Coach. Since 2011, Jones has served as the USATF Pacific Association Men’s Open Chair.
As an assistant to Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Hall of Fame coach Neville G. Hodge at Morgan State since 2007, Jones was responsible for the development of the men's and women's distance programs and assisted with sprints, relays and jumps. Jones coached Morgan State's first MEAC cross country champion in Justus David in 2009 and had runners finish first and third at championships to garner All-MEAC honors. David was also named MEAC Performer of the Year under Jones. Jones also found success with his distance runners in both indoor and outdoor track at Morgan State as five school records were broken during the 2009 indoor season, and the Bears picked up a pair of MEAC titles at indoor and outdoor championships. Jones helped develop 29 NCAA regional qualifiers in track in his first two seasons as an assistant at Morgan State.
In addition to his regular coaching duties, Jones was in charge of recruiting for the men's and women's track and field and cross country programs at Morgan State, monitored the academic progress of all the cross country and track athletes and coordinated the budget and travel for the Bears.
Prior to returning to his alma mater, Jones served as an assistant coach at junior college powerhouse Central Arizona College in Coolidge, Ariz., from 2003-07. While with the Vaqueros, Jones helped coach the cross country and track and field teams to seven National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA)national titles. During his time there, Jones groomed seven individual national champions in track and field, two individual national champions in cross country, three national championship relay teams, and had 22 student-athletes named All-Americans. Jones was also a two-time national junior college Assistant Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2007.
Jones began his coaching career at NCAA Division III Wilmington College in Ohio, serving as the sprints, hurdles and jumps coach. At Wilmington, Jones developed the training and strength and conditioning programs for the sprinters and long and triple jumpers, and gained valuable recruiting experience bringing student-athletes to a program without athletic scholarships.
A 1999 graduate of Morgan State, Jones was a standout sprinter for the Bears, earning the 1996 MEAC title in the 200-meter dash and the 1997 Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America 200 title. Jones was an NCAA qualifier in the 200 in 1998 and served as Vice President of the Bears' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. A two-sport athlete, Jones also played football for Morgan State, leading the team in return yards and ranking among the top return specialists in the NCAA. Jones also spent two seasons at Central Arizona where he was a team captain and part of the school's first national championship in track and field.
Jones holds USATF Level II certification in sprints, hurdles, relays and distance running and is certified to teach USATF Level I courses. At Morgan State, Jones was an adjunct faculty member, developing and teaching a “Coaching Track and Field” course in the Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Department. In addition to coaching and teaching, Jones served as an assistant meet director at the USATF Junior Olympic track meet in 2006 and assisted the Morgan State sports information staff with the track and cross country web pages, media guides and audio blog.
Jones earned a Bachelor of Science in physical education from Morgan State in 1999 and earned a master's in physical education from The Ohio State University in 2001. He also holds an associate's degree in recreation and parks management from Central Arizona College.
