Adam Ward, who has been the head coach of Augusta University’s cross-country and track and field team for 19 years, announced he has accepted a coaching job at the University of Maine over the weekend.
“It is unbelievable what this program in Augusta means to me and my family. It is really tough to express how bittersweet it is to leave this program. I love what we’ve done here and love my student athletes, but it is tough for sure,” Ward said.
Ward has coached 18 seasons at AU, leading the Jaguars to six cross-country conference titles. In 2008, he helped the women’s cross-country team qualify for the NCAA Division II Championship for the first time in school history, where the team went on to finish 24th.
In 2019, the men’s cross-country team finished ninth at NCAA Division II Championship, also the best in the program’s history. He also coached women’s runner Micah Weathers, who finished in 44th place at nationals in 2019, which is the best finish ever by a Jaguar runner in the national championship.
“You think I would say the ninth-place finish and that ranks up there, but that first women’s team to go to nationals in 2008, I get choked up thinking about it,” Ward said. “That was a very special moment because people thought this program was never going to be any good and I was wasting my time. Seeing the look on those faces, it was just truly special and that was a memory I will always have.”
The Jaguars have now lost Ward, Athletic Director Clint Bryant, men’s golf Coach Jack O’Keefe and women’s basketball Coach Millette Green going into the 2022-23 year.
While Ward said he loved AU and was very emotional about leaving the program, he is excited for University of Maine and all the resources it has to offer.
“I think the thing for me that was a deciding factor ultimately was that I have been wanting resources for the program and I just don’t want to pass up this opportunity where I see a lot of those resources I have been wanting,” Ward said. “There is also so many more student resources, they’ve got so many academic support staff, athletic trainers, locker rooms and more. They have also got some programs that are exciting that a lot of runners that I have had in the past have been wanting to do, but we couldn’t recruit them because we didn’t have them.”
Ward will now continue as the cross-country and track and field coach for the University of Maine.
AU continues to the search for a new athletic director and now two new coaches. Currently, 24-year head softball Coach Melissa Brocato is serving as the Interim Director of Athletics for the Jaguars.
Celeste Stewart was announced as the Interim Head Coach for the Jaguars women’s basketball team last month. AU also named Steven Paine as the Director of Golf and the men’s golf coach in June.
No name or candidate has been announced for the cross-country or track and field opening.
Chris Rickerson is a staff reporter covering Columbia County government and general assignment topics for The Augusta Press. Reach him at chris@theaugustapress.com.
