MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Morehead State's head cross country and track and field coach
Clay Dixon will be leading the program into the future as he has earned a contract extension through the 2027-28 seasons.
Dixon is in the midst of his ninth year of coaching men's and women's cross country and track & field and his seventh as the program's head coach. He started to lead the Eagle cross country teams in 2019 as an interim head coach before being promoted during the season. He also spent two years as an assistant under former MSU coach Steve Picucci.
"I would like to thank Dr. Morgan,
Kelly Wells and the athletics staff for continuing to place their trust in me to lead this program," said Dixon. "A special thanks goes to my coaching staff for their support and the team as they make my job a joy each and every day. And last but not least my family as they put up with the crazy hectic life of a track coach (thank you Delaina)."
He joined the MSU coaching ranks after being a member of the cross country and track teams from 2012-2017. While at MSU, he was part of the men's 4x800-meter relay school-record squad his freshman year. Dixon competed at the Ohio Valley Conference Championship in track and field three times.
During his coaching tenure, Eagle runners have set 27 top-five track times and posted 19 top-20 cross country marks in school history. In addition under his tutelage, school records have been set in the women's 60-meter, 100-meter and 200-meter dashes; and the women's 1,500-meter and men's 10,000-meter runs.
Academically, all four of his teams (men's cross country, women's cross country, men's track and field, women's track and field) have been honored by the USA Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USATFCCCA) each year they have been eligible. In addition, his men's track and field teams have won the OVC Academic Achievement Award three times, for posting the highest GPA in that sport in the conference. In 2024, his men's track & field squad had the best GPA among all Division I schools in the state.
"My goal is to continue to train these athletes to the best of their athletic ability. Beyond that I will continue to guide them to grow and become the best people they can be," he said. "My hope for each one of them is they graduate Morehead State better people than when they came here, and that they look back on their experiences here as key points in their lives."Â
He is a member of the USATFCCCA and has earned certifications from the organization in Strength and Conditionning, Injury Management, Program Management and Track and Field Technical.
Originally from Winchester, Ky., Dixon graduated from George Rogers Clark High School. He earned his Bachelor's of Science in Exercise Science in 2016 and completed his Masters of Arts in Wellness Promotion in December of 2017, both from MSU. Dixon wrote his masters' thesis on the effects of anthropometric measurements on NCAA Division I track athletes.
Dixon and his wife, Delaina, have two children, June Carter, born in 2022, and Henry David Otis, born in 2024.
