Geneseo Mourns the Passing of Coaching Legend Mike Woods
Geneseo Sports Information Department
GENESEO, N.Y. - The SUNY Geneseo athletics family mourns the loss of legendary former cross country and track & field head coach Mike Woods, who passed away on Wednesday, October 27. In addition to coaching, Woods earned his bachelor's degree at the College in secondary English, as well as a master's degree in English in 1978.
The Geneseo Department of Athletics and Recreation will provide an update with arrangements when details are made available.
"It is with much sorrow that we learn of the passing of Mike," said Director of Athletics Mike Mooney. "He was one of the early architects of Geneseo's success at the national level in athletics. He was always looking for opportunities for his student-athletes to achieve at the highest level. Mike was excellent at designing training methods for student-athletes and was always pushing the positive. His most impactful strategy in working with student-athletes was using the word 'BELIEVE.' Believe in yourself, believe in your training and believe in Geneseo cross-country and track and field. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Woods family."
A website forwell wishes and memories from the student-athletes and staff members that Woods influenced while at Geneseo have been set up. Please feel free to add your story about Mike HERE.
Woods retired following the 2014-15 academic year after a 23-year career with the men's and women's cross country teams at SUNY Geneseo. One of the nation's most decorated distance coaches, Woods coached numerous national champions and All-Americans during his tenure with the Knights, while having been a part of 52 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championships, and garnering a total of 28 SUNYAC Coach of the Year honors.
Woods led the 2005 women's cross country team to the first and only team national championship in institution history, and was named the NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year for his efforts. Since taking over the program at his alma mater in 1992, he has also guided 21 runners (13 women, 8 men) to 29 All-America citations, including national runner-up Liz Montgomery in 2007 and three-time All-America Jeff Beck '05.
In 2014, the Knights women clinched their 16th-consecutive and 20th overall appearance in the NCAA Championship race, while the men made their 12th-straight (12th overall) showing. Geneseo extended the nation's longest streak to 12 for having both its men's and women's teams qualify for the NCAA Championships. The women notched a fifth-place effort in 2007, while the men have run to top-10 finishes in four of the last six years, including a fourth-place showing in 2011. Woods has been voted the Atlantic Region Coach of the Year five times (three women, two men).
A 22-time SUNYAC Cross Country Coach of the Year (12 women, 10 men), he has guided 26 SUNYAC Championship teams (14 women, 12 men), while 15 of his Knights (10 women, five men) have run to 20 SUNYAC individual Championships and 67 of his runners (36 women, 31 men) have been inducted into the SUNYAC Cross Country Hall of Fame. The women won an impressive 10-straight SUNYAC titles from 2000-2009 on their way to 14 total championships under Woods, while the men, who won a string of six from 2000-2005, won 12 conference crowns during his tenure.
Woods also served as the head coach for the Geneseo track & field programs for 12 years until 2004, when he started focusing solely on the distance runners as an assistant coach. As head coach, he the led the Knights to nine indoor titles (four men, five women), along with five outdoor championships (four women, one men).
Five Knights have been crowned individual national champions under Woods' watch, most recently Alyssa Smith who won the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 2013. Seven-time All-American Beth Shope '99 won the institution's first ever national championship, bringing home the hammer throw title in 1999, before Kim DePrez '03 sweep the indoor and outdoor high jump titles, and Melissa White '03 take top-honors in the indoor 5,000-meter run in 2003.
All told, 53 track & field/cross country competitors (33 women, 20 men) have combined for 126 All-America certificates (84 women, 42 men) since Woods has been a part of the team. He has also been a head coach for 40 SUNYAC Championships (23 women, 17 men), along with 12 more as an assistant coach. During the 2002-'03 academic year, Woods led Geneseo to an unprecedented sweep of all six SUNYAC titles in cross country and track & field, before also helping the Knights repeat the feat three years later in 2005-'06.
Prior to coaching at Geneseo, Woods taught English at York Central High School. He also coached boys and girls cross country teams for 21 years, compiling a dual meet record of 219-24, as well as the track and field teams for 20 years, running up a dual-meet mark of 208-36.
