Philip Jennings Tabbed as Wellesley's Next Cross Country/Track & Field Head Coach
WELLESLEY, Mass. - Bridget Belgiovine, Chair of the Wellesley
College Department of Physical Education, Recreation, and Director
of Athletics, has announced the hiring of Philip
Jennings as Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach
and Assistant Professor of the Practice. He takes over for
long-time Wellesley coach, John Babington, who recently retired
after 26 years with the Blue.
"I am pleased to welcome Phil Jennings to Wellesley," said
Belgiovine. "He has proven himself to be very successful in leading
both top-notch cross country and track and field programs during
his coaching career," she added. "We look forward to his leadership
of our teams, in particular the continuing development of our track
and field program."
Jennings heads to Wellesley after spending the last 10 years at
The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), where he served as head coach for
the men’s and women’s cross country and track &
field teams for the past five years. He also spent the previous
three years as Head Cross Country Coach, while beginning his career
as an assistant in both programs in 2003.
Under Jennings’ tutelage, TCNJ has been a perennial power;
combining for 53 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Team
Championships between men’s and women’s cross country,
and men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track &
field. His athletes have boasted 150 individual All-America awards,
90 coming with Jennings as a head coach.
Jennings has had nine of his teams place in the top-ten at the
NCAA Championships, while earning NCAA Atlantic Regional cross
country titles for both men and women. He was honored by the US
Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA)
four times, being named the NCAA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year
three times on the women’s side and once on the men’s
side. In addition, Jennings has been named NJAC Coach of the Year
19 total times in his career.
"I am excited and honored for the opportunity to coach at
Wellesley College and I look forward to continuing and enhancing
Wellesley’s strong tradition of athletic success in cross
country and track and field," said Jennings. "I was impressed by
the commitment, leadership, and vision by Athletics Director,
Bridget Belgiovine, and her staff; and most importantly by the
dedicated and dynamic group of current student athletes."
Prior to his stint at TCNJ, Jennings served as assistant cross
country and track & field coach at Division-I Rider University.
During his time with the Broncs, his teams finished second at both
the indoor and outdoor Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Championships.
Jennings ran at Hamilton College for four years, serving as a
two-team captain for both the cross-country and track & field
teams and earning 11 varsity letters. During his senior year, his
cross country team finished eighth at the NCAA Regional
Championships, while earning a fifth place finish at the New York
State Championships.
A 1999 graduate of Hamilton with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Economics, Jennings is a Level I and Level II certified coach. He
also earned his Master’s Degree from TCNJ in 2005, completing
the Physical Education curriculum with a concentration in Athletic
Administration.