James Reid was named the Angelo State University Director of Athletics on June 14, 2016 by Dr. Brian J. May after an illustrious coaching career and serving as the assistant athletic director from 2007 to 2015. He worked as interim director of athletics from May 2015 until officially being named director of athletics.
A national champion coach and national coach of the year, Reid was at the helm of the Angelo State men’s and women’s track and field programs since 1999 before transitioning to his fulltime administrative role leading the athletic department. His ASU tenure, however, began long before that.
It was under Reid’s guidance that the Rambelles in 2010 notched the greatest ASU track and field achievement to date, the NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championship. That included two individual and a relay national championships; 12 individual All-America performances; and two All-America relay teams. Aisha Adams was named the NCAA D-II National Female Field Athlete of the Year.
That same year, the Rams finished in the top 10 at the national meet for the 26th time overall and fifth time under Reid. Overall, they garnered four individual All-America certificates and posted two All-America relay performances. While guiding his student-athletes to athletic success, Reid has also received numerous personal accolades. He was twice named NCAA DII National Women’s Track and Field Coach of the Year; NCAA D-II South Central Region Women’s Track and Field Coach of the Year in 2004 and 2009–10; lsc Men’s Track and Field Coach of the Year in 2001; and LSC Women’s Track and Field Coach of the Year in 2003–05 and 2007–15.
With Reid at the helm, ASU has had 11 individual national champions, including Curry Dawson (three time), Adree Lakey (three- time), Will Littleton (two-time), Lee McCown, Adams(two-time), LaTasha Mosley, Amber Miller, LaTisha Burns, Nussey,Celethia Byrd, and Kearah Danville (two-time). ASU posted another first in 2011 when Andria Nussey won the women’s first indoor national title in the 800-meters at the NCAA DII Women’s Indoor National Championships.
Reid has also tutored numerous other NCAA DII All-Americans, including nine pole vaulters. Other Rams All-Americans include Nathan Gibson, Darrin Session and Noah Dean. Other Rambelles All-Americans include Chrystal Ruiz , Kathy Crowe, Alissa Miller and several others in various relays. He also coached Amanda Welch to the first-ever women’s pole vault competition at the NCAA D-II national meet in 1999.
Reid coached his ASU teams to numerous top performances in Lone Star Conference competition. Since Reid took over the program, both the Rams and Rambelles have finished in the top three at every LSC Championship. This includes in 2013 guiding the Rams to their first team title since 1992 and nine LSC titles for the Rambelles, including seven-straight from
2009–15. In 2004, Reid led the ’Belles to their first-ever LSC title, snapping the NCAA-record streak of 19 consecutive titles for rival Abilene Christian.
Other national honors for athletes Reid has coached at ASU include numerous competitors at the U.S. National Track and Field Championships. Ruiz competed for the Mexican national team at the 2011 Pan Am Games. Amy Bippert-Bohensky and Dawson were inducted into the NCAA D-II Track and Field Hall of Fame.
Despite coming from an impressive track family, Reid did not start out to become a track coach or even a track athlete. He began his tenure at Angelo State in 1986 as a member of the Rams football team, but his career was cut short by an illness in his freshman season. Noble invited him to help with the track team and he has been on the track ever since.
A native of Sweeny, Reid’s father, Doug, was the head track coach at Sweeny High School, where he led the Bulldogs to a state championship in 1992 and runner-up finishes in 1993 and 2001, before retiring from coaching. Reid’s older brother, Will, has seen his share of success in track and cross country as well winning a state championship in cross country in 2013 at Harper, and multiple top three state team finishes in track and cross country while at Water Valley High School and Harper.
Reid received his undergraduate degree from ASU in 1991 and his master’s degree in education in 1993. He and his wife, Nina, have three children, Jacob, Kyla and J.D.
