JMU Welcomes Delethea Quarles as Director of Track & Field and Cross Country

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne announced Friday the addition of Delethea Quarles to lead the Dukes' track and field and cross country programs as director. Quarles is a Virginia native and a 32-year veteran of collegiate track and field.

"I'm thrilled to welcome a coach of Delethea's pedigree to JMU to lead our track and field and cross country programs," Bourne said. "She has been intimately involved with one of the top NCAA programs in the country while also serving various national and international roles within the sport of track and field. She brings a winning mentality and a wealth of knowledge, but more importantly, she cares deeply about her student-athletes and their holistic success and well-being, both in college and beyond."

Quarles spent the last 25 years with one of the nation's elite track and field programs at South Carolina, including the last 18 years as assistant head coach with oversight of the jumps and multi-events along with factoring prominently in all recruiting, operational and academic activities. "Coach Dee" helped guide the Gamecocks to a NCAA national championship in 2002 and coached a pair of NCAA individual champions

"I am extremely thankful and honored that Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne and Associate Athletic Director Kevin White have chosen me to become a member of the JMU Family and entrusting me to lead this program as the Director of Track and Field and Cross Country," Quarles said. "I am excited and humbled by this opportunity to continue to pour into the lives of student-athletes in the sport that I love and cherish so much."

The Covington, Va. Native arrived at South Carolina in 1997 as assistant coach and was promoted to assistant head coach in 2005. USC captured SEC team outdoor championships in 1999, 2002 and 2005 to go along with the 2002 national title. The Gamecocks have achieved 57 total top-25 team finishes with Quarles on staff, including 29 top-10 team results.

Four women earned national athlete of the year honors with Quarles on staff. Altogether, the program tallied 43 individual and relay titles since 1998, including a pair of outdoor high jump champions in 2015 and 2021. Of the 621 total All-Americans at USC during her career, 50 came from her direct oversight of the jumps and multi-events. Her student-athletes accounted for nine of the squad's 82 total points en route to the 2002 national title, the first for South Carolina in any sport.

At America's premier annual track meet, the Penn Relays, Quarles' jumpers have won 10 Championship of America and two college division titles, including three straight men's long jump wins by Yann Randrianasolo from 2017-2019. Since 1998, Carolina athletes have also won 26 Championship of America relay wagon wheels, and Gamecock alumni have claimed 19 USA vs. the World relay victories.

While Quarles's primary focus is on her athletes, her tremendous impact throughout the industry has led to numerous individual awards and honors. She's served on the Team USA staff at each of the last four IAAF World Championships, including serving as the women's team head coach at the 2015 event in Beijing. Collegiately, she was named USTFCCCA Southeast Regional Assistant Coach of the Year in 2018.

Throughout her three decades as a college coach, including 25 seasons at South Carolina, Quarles has stood for much more than on-track success. In fact, Quarles served as the coaching staff's academic liaison for nearly two decades, and she worked just as hard to instill the importance of academic success as she does helping her athletes clear the next bar. During Quarles's tenure, the Gamecock program earned four USTFCCCA Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. Carolina has also earned five SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year titles. As a team, the Carolina women were honored as USTFCCA Academic National Champions in 2006, and the Carolina men won the award in 2009 for their classroom prowess.

Citizenship and community service are also pillars of Quarles's mindset as she guides her student-athletes. With Quarles serving as mentor, Carolina's Maya Evans was named the 2017 SEC Brad Davis Community Service Leader of the Year, an all-sports award.

A USTFCCCA member since 1997, Quarles is an important voice in the world of track & field far beyond what happens inside of the oval. She's served on the USTFCCCA's Women's Development and Heptathlon Committees for 25 years, helping to set the sport's agenda in both areas. She was part of the NCAA's Minority Coaches Leadership Development program in 2017, which was also the first year she began serving on the USATF's Women's Commission.

Quarles began her career at her alma mater, Liberty, serving as an assistant coach for eight seasons. The Flames captured both men's and women's titles in the Big South in 1994, 1995 and 1996. She also represented the athletic department on the NCAA's Gender Equity Committee.

A member of the Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame, Quarles helped the Flames capture outdoor conference titles in 1988 and 1989. She is a three-time All-American and placed fifth in the heptathlon at the NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championship. She was the first athlete in program history to accumulate 200 points in a season and claimed an event title in the 100-meter hurdles in the 1989 Penn Relays. Her program record in the event stood for more than 20 years.

Quarles is a 1990 graduate of Liberty with a Bachelor of Science in psychology.

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