Kansas State Hires NDSU’s Ryun Godfrey

FARGO, N.D. – Kansas State University announced Tuesday, Sept. 23, that it has hired longtime North Dakota State University head women’s track & field and cross country coach Ryun Godfrey to serve as the head cross country coach and assistant track coach for the combined women’s and men’s program at Kansas State.

Recently completing his 15th season as NDSU’s head coach in 2013-14, Godfrey directed the program to nearly unparalleled success. In his tenure with the Bison, he claimed 32 Coach of the Year awards – 24 at the conference level, seven regional honors, and one national award.

Under Godfrey’s leadership, the Bison have won all 14 indoor and outdoor league titles since joining the Division I Summit League in 2007. The Bison have won a combined 30 conference titles in indoor track, outdoor track and cross country since Godfrey became the head coach in 1999.

“On behalf of the multitude of student-athletes, our staff and the athletic administration, we wish Ryun the very best as he begins a new chapter in his coaching career,” said NDSU director of women’s athletics Lynn Dorn. “Ryun’s impact has been immeasurable, as the success of the women’s cross country and track and field programs reflect achievements at the highest level, including national recognition.”

“The success goes beyond the field of competition to include academic success and the exceptional citizenship of our athletes,” Dorn continued. “We hold Ryun in the highest regard as a person of great integrity, character and outstanding leadership. Ryun has influenced the lives of many throughout his storied career, and he will be sorely missed as a colleague and friend.”

Godfrey was recognized for his team’s outstanding achievements in 2014, as he swept the USTFCCCA’s Indoor and Outdoor Coach of the Year awards for the Midwest Region – a nine-state region that is home to teams from 13 conferences. He was one of just four coaches in the nation to sweep the indoor and outdoor awards.

In the 2011-12, 2012-13, and 2013-14 seasons, NDSU claimed the ‘Triple Crown’ in The Summit League, sweeping the league’s cross country, indoor and outdoor team championships.

Godfrey directed the Bison to national prominence in 2014 with five combined entries to the NCAA Championships between the indoor and outdoor seasons. NDSU had more entries at the NCAA Outdoor Championships than 27 schools from the SEC, Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12 or ACC. There were six Big Ten schools that had fewer entries at the NCAA Championships than the NDSU women.

The Bison earned second-team All-American honors in the 4x400m relay indoor and outdoor in 2014, ranking among the top 10 teams in the nation during the season.

The multiple team successes under Godfrey were not without several outstanding individual accomplishments. Since 2009, 11 Bison women combined to claim 15 total Division I All-America citations, and three of those All-Americans were coached directly by Godfrey in the 800 meters.

Beyond the dominance of the collegiate schedule, 10 Bison athletes competed at the USA Championships during the Godfrey era, including four that competed at the Olympic Trials during their careers. 

Godfrey turned the NDSU women’s cross country program into a regional power as well, directing the Bison to back-to-back-to-back conference titles from 2011-13 and a seventh-place team finish at the 2012 NCAA Midwest Regional.

In his third season at NDSU, Godfrey directed the Bison women to the 2002 NCAA Division II indoor track & field national title and a runner-up finish at the 2002 outdoor track & field nationals. He swept up multiple coaching awards for his efforts that year, being named the USTCA Division II Indoor National Coach of the Year and North Central Region Indoor and Outdoor Coach of the Year.

An All-North Central Conference performer during his collegiate running career, Godfrey was a member of seven NDSU league champion track & field squads. He graduated in 1996 from North Dakota State with a degree in physical education.

Statement from Ryun Godfrey: “NDSU is a special place for me. I will always look back on my time here with the greatest appreciation. I will be forever grateful to Lynn Dorn for taking a chance on me in the spring of 2000, and to Don Larson, whose guidance has been invaluable. Stevie Keller and his family are very close to me; leaving them is a very difficult thing. Most recently, Coach St. Clair, Coach Carlson and Coach Barry have made profound impacts on me and our program.

“To the former and current student-athletes, I want to say thank you. It was a privilege to coach for NDSU. Go Bison!”