PEPPER PIKE, Ohio - The Ursuline College Athletic Department is excited to announce the hiring of Ralph White as the new Head Coach of the Ursuline Arrows Cross Country program. White will also serve as the Assistant Track and Field Coach, under Steve Smalley. White comes to Ursuline following a variety of very successful stops, including Head Women’s Cross Country and Track Coach at Clemson University.
White’s most recent coaching stop was at Indiana University of Pennsylvania as Director of Men’s and Women’s Cross Country and Track & Field teams. For four years he led the program to two national championships with four combined titles. He coached 27 All-Americans, including the first cross country All-American at IUP in 25 years. His athletes totaled 31 conference champions, 24 conference all-time or meet records, 36 indoor and outdoor school records, and five top-20 team finishes at the NCAA National Championship meets.
Prior to IUP, White coached seven years (2000-2007) at Williams College, guiding the team to the 2007 Women’s Indoor National Championship, including seven top-4 finishes. He coached 101 women All-American’s in six years, which is more than the school had in its history combined. For his efforts he earned coaching honors each year at Williams College, including being named NESCAC, New England, and National Coach of the Year. He even served as the National Coach for the Cayman Islands in 2001.
From 1997-1999, White served as the Men’s Top Assistant for Track and Field at Clemson, before taking over for one season as Head Coach in 1999-2000. In his one season as head coach, White brought in 27 student-athletes, the largest class in school history. Among his athletes, six broke school records, the entire cross country team was awarded the Academic All-American status, and two athletes earned Olympic Team berths for the 2000 Olympic Summer Games.
From 1987-1996, White coached at Allegheny College, where his teams won seven consecutive NCAC Cross Country titles and five Mid-East Regional titles. He was named NCAC Cross Country Coach of the Year seven times, and NCAC Track and Field Coach of the Year 13 times.
White’s career started in 1977 as the Eleanor Roosevelt High School (Greenbelt, Maryland) Track Coach, before moving on to George Mason University (1980-84), and then Southern Methodist University (1984-87).
At every stop, White has proven his ability to find talent and coach talent. He prides himself on recruiting and building a program into an established winner. He has coached hundreds of All-Americans, Conference Champions, and record setting student-athletes.