EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Don Walters, who has guided the University of Evansville cross country program for the last 23 years and helped resurrect the track and field program at UE after a more than 30-year hiatus, has announced that he will retire from coaching at the end of the 2022 track and field season.

"I want to thank everyone at the University who helped make my dream come true," said Walters.  "Cross country and track and field take long hours of practice and commitment, along with many hours of study for academics.  I am proud that all of the teams that I have coached have successfully completed this task of juggling both with great pride.

"We are a team at the University of Evansville.  From the admissions department to the administration and support services people in the athletics department, a lot of hard work goes into working with our student-athletes every day.  Without everyone on board and the long hours it takes, we would not have had the success that we have had over the years."

"We are extremely appreciative of Don's leadership of our cross country and track and field programs and the impact he has had on the student-athletes he has coached," said UE Senior Associate Athletic Director for Internal Operations/SWA Sarah Solinsky.  "His passion for UE and the student-athlete experience has been evident throughout his career and we celebrate his countless contributions to our athletics department, the University, and the local running community."

Walters was named UE's cross country head coach in the spring of 2000, and since then, he has transformed the UE running program.  When Walters came to UE, the school record in the women's 5-K event was 18:33.  Now, the record stands almost two minutes faster at 16:46.4, and his runners own all 15 of the top times in both the women's 5-K and 6-K disciplines.  On the men's side, Walters' runners own the nine fastest 10-K marks in school history, while owning 10 of the 15 fastest 8-K times in school history.

Prior to his arrival, Evansville had not competed in the sport of track and field since 1985.  In the early 2000s, Walters started taking his teams to track meets in the spring to compete as individuals.  Through persistence and growth in the running program, UE would eventually reinstate track and field as a varsity sport in 2018 officially, with Walters leading the charge.

"I really want to thank Mark Spencer for his role in bringing track and field back," said Walters.  "The road to success has many ups and downs.  We have to stay positive and never give up.  I did that in the pursuit of bringing back track & field, and I thank Mark for sharing in that vision."

Individually, he has produced two UE Hall of Fame runners in Nick Waninger (HOF Class of 2011) and Andrea Sonnenschein (HOF Class of 2016).  Current graduate student Anna Lowry and 2014 graduate Kelby Jenkins will also push for Hall of Fame consideration, with Lowry holding 10 different school records in both cross country and track and being the MVC Champion in both the 10,000-meters (outdoor) and 5,000-meters (indoor) last season, while Jenkins holds the 6-K school record in cross country. 

Walters' runners not only succeeded on the course and track during his time as head coach, but also in the classroom and community.  The UE women's cross country team has earned Academic All-America status in each of Walters' 23 seasons as head coach, while the men have earned the distinction 18-straight years.  Walters' runners have also been heavily involved in community service, with various runners helping to put on middle school track and cross country meets throughout his tenure.

As much as Walters did to help the Purple Aces succeed on the course, track and classroom, he maybe did more behind the scenes to provide the UE running programs with a home.  When he arrived in 2000, Evansville did not have a home cross country course.  In 2002, he designed and built the UE Cross Country Course in northern Vanderburgh County.  It served as the host for UE meets for 11 years, including hosting the 2005 Missouri Valley Conference Championships. 

Then, in 2014, Walters designed and built the cross country course at Angel Mounds, which has served as the home for not only UE, but also various high school and middle school meets in the Evansville area.  It has also served as the host of the 2015 and 2021 MVC Championships, as well as the 2022 NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships this past fall.

Walters helped renovate the old National Guard Armory building on campus to provide his teams with locker room space and a place to train indoors with plyometric workouts.  He also assisted with creating offices for the UE cross country and golf programs in the Armory building, while also helping build lockers for both UE basketball programs, as well as the UE baseball team.

Walters' last meet as head coach is currently scheduled to be May 13-15 in Des Moines, Iowa at the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships.  The NCAA Preliminary Rounds are set for May 25-28 in Bloomington, Indiana.  A national search for Walters' replacement will begin shortly.