University of West Florida

Dr. Stuart Towns has contributed to the UWF Cross Country program in one of the most significant ways. He founded the West Florida Men’s Cross Country Program in 1986. While coaching from 1986 to 1999, he took nine teams to the NAIA National Championship Meet. He led the 1993 team to a program-best 19th place finish at NAIA nationals.

As a head coach, he was named GSC Coach of the Year in 1996 and in 1998. He was also named NAIA District 27 Coach of the Year. Throughout his career, he had 17 competitors reach All-GSC status, six NAIA All-Americans, and six GSC scholar-athletes, all while accumulating a 384-154 record. His teams won two Gulf South Conference Championships and finished second in the conference two different times. Both the men’s and women’s teams qualified for the NAIA Championships in each of the first five seasons of program history.