Needs moves full time to Director of Track and Field/Cross Country

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Veteran Carson-Newman quarterbacks coach and head track and field coach David Needs will take over full time as Carson-Newman's Director of Track and Field/Cross Country.

A search for a head cross country coach is underway and interested parties should apply by visiting http://www.cn.edu/administration/human-resources/employment-opportunities for more information.

"It's a great experience," Needs said. "I've enjoyed football, but to be able to build our track program into the direction we want it to go and at a Carson-Newman quality.  That has me excited to make this change.

Needs oversaw a fourth place finish for C-N's men's track team in the southeast region meet in 2013.

He takes over the program fulltime in the year it becomes a SAC sponsored sport.

"The timing is huge," Needs said. "The expectations will be there for us to compete for a conference title.  We've had a great track program and now it's a chance a to prove it in conference."

Several C-N football players have decided to become two-sport athletes and have joined the track team. The 2004-05 season saw Lady Eagle Amy Cate participate in the National Championships in the high jump for the second consecutive year. He is the coordinator of the speed program at C-N where he works on improving the players running speed and form. Needs has recently had articles published in national football magazines including; "Using The Passing Game To Make Your Option Offense Explosive" published in Gridiron Strategy and "Teaching Wide Receivers the Critical Skills" published in American Football Monthly.

"I feel great about the opportunity that David Needs brings us," C-N athletic director Allen Morgan said. "He has experience with us and it's a huge asset for our track and field program, the time he'll be able to devote to those athletes."

The Wilmington, Del., native was also published in the AFCA Summer manual in `07. His article "Increasing Your Options" broached the subject of incorporating the pass into an option offense, which turned out to be fitting, as the Eagles led the nation in pass efficiency in the season that followed.

Needs is a 1992 graduate of C-N with a degree in Political Science. The former quarterback was a member of Eagle national championship teams in 1988 and 1989. Before coming to C-N, he was the offensive coordinator at Mount Pleasant High School in Wilmington, Del.

Needs earned a Master's degree in Education at Carson-Newman in 1998. He also takes a leadership role in getting players involved in community outreach, such as the "One Way 2 Play - Drug Free" program and visits to area schools, churches and correctional facilities.

Needs and his wife, Melissa, who works in financial aid at C-N, reside in Morristown. The couple has three children - D.J., Tyler and Keely.

-CN-