Bryan Fetzer

Bryan Fetzer was hired as Virginia’s director of track and field/cross country in December 2011 and the success the Cavaliers have had since his arrival in Charlottesville has been hard to ignore.

During the 2018-19 season, Jordan Scott captured the NCAA indoor triple jump title and placed second in the event at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Scott was named the USTFCCCA Southeast Regional Athlete of the Year for both the indoor and outdoor campaign, in addition to earning the ACC Indoor and Outdoor Performer of the Year and ACC Championships Field MVP. The Cavaliers recorded 13 All-America honors and 10 ACC titles during the season. Fetzer was named the ACC Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year, leading the program to an 18th-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and a second-place finish at the ACC Outdoor Championships.

Fetzer led the Cavaliers to 10 All-America honors during the 2017-18 season, including the program’s first female pole vaulting ACC title and All-American honoree. Brent Demarest finished as a cross country All-American, the first for the Cavaliers since 2013.

During the 2016-17 season, the men’s team earned a program best fourth-place finish in the USTFCCCA Program of the Year standings. UVA was one of three programs to rank in the top five of the POY for the past three season, 2014- 15, 2015-16 and 2016-17. The men’s team finished inside the top-20 in all three seasons, ranking 18th at the cross country championships, 16th at the indoor championships and a program-best third at the outdoor championships.

Over the year, the Cavaliers had 11 All-Americans, eight ACC Champions and eight school records. Filip Mihaljevic captured the NCAA outdoor title in the shot put and the discus, earning him recognition as a Bowerman Semifinalist, the ACC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year, the 2017 ACC Outdoor Championships Men’s Field MVP, 2017 USTFCCCA Southeast Regional Field Athlete of the Year and the ACC Outdoor Scholar Athlete of the Year. Jordan Young was named the Indoor Field Athlete of the Year.

In cross country, the men’s team captured their fifth consecutive NCAA appearance. Both teams advanced to the NCAA Southeast Region as the men finished second in the region and the women finished sixth. At the NCAA Outdoor championships, the men’s team recorded four first-team All-American honors and two honorable mentions, while the women’s team earned a second-team honor. During the indoor season, the men’s team sent four student-athletes to the NCAA Championships.

Under the guidance of Fetzer, the Cavaliers have produced two national champions, 74 All-Americans, including 27 first-team honorees, 38 ACC champions, 33 school records and 31 school freshman records.

Before coming to Charlottesville, Fetzer was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Harvard where he helped the Crimson bring in the No. 5 men’s track and field recruiting class in 2011, according to Track and Field News.

Fetzer had assistant coach stops at Mississippi State (2007-10), California (2004-07) and Ball State (2003-04) after a five-year stint as the director of track and field/cross country at Gardner-Webb, where he oversaw the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ transition from Division II to Division I.

Fetzer’s coaching career began at Ranger College in Ranger, Texas, as a track and field and football coach. During his tenure, the women’s program became a national junior college power, placing second during the 1999 indoor and outdoor seasons and finishing no lower than 11th at the NJCAA Championships in his four years. Ranger student-athletes captured eight NJCAA National Championships and secured 65 All-America citations.

In addition to his work with collegiate athletes, Fetzer has consulted and worked on speed/power development and strength training with several professional athletes in the NFL, MLB, Arena Football League, WNBA and WUSA. Fetzer has also served on several national staffs for various countries for the World Junior Championships, the Commonwealth Games, the NACAC Under-23 Championships and the World University Games. He also served as the secretary for the US Women’s Coaches Association from 1999-2005. Fetzer earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Canisius College, where he was a four-year letterman and senior captain for the football team. He holds a master’s degree in physical education from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas.

Fetzer is a member of the USTFCCCA Autonomy Five Executive Committee, the ACC Diversity and Inclusion Committee and is the ACC representative on the NCAA Division I Track and Field Executive Committee.