Dr. Jason McCullough enters his 21st season as the head cross country coach and is beginning his ninth year as head track & field coach at Fort Hays State University in 2025-26. He's led the men's and women's cross country teams to one national appearance each, with the women finishing 18th nationally in 2016 and the men placing 29th in the country in 2019, in addition to eight athletes who have qualified individually. He was named MIAA Conference Coach of the Year after leading the 2012 men's cross country team to its first-ever MIAA title. That squad ranked as high as 17th in the national polls and second in the NCAA Central Region.
Additionally, the Tiger track & field squad has had 127 national qualifiers during his eight years as head coach, including five National Champions (Madison Wolf - 2018 Javelin, Brett Meyer - 2019 Outdoor 1,500m, Alexandra Hart - 2021 Indoor High Jump, Ryan Stanley - 2021 Outdoor Pole Vault, Ryan Stanley - 2022 Indoor Pole Vault), 84 All-Americans, 112 All-Region performances, 128 All-MIAA awards and 36 MIAA champions.
While at FHSU, the men's and women's cross country teams have recorded 18 top-seven region performances. In 2007, the Tiger women ended the season fourth in the region, just missing an NCAA berth. The FHSU women ended the season ranked 24th in the NCAA II polls, their first national ranking in ten years. The 2015 women's squad missed a national berth by one spot before earning a trip to nationals the following year. The men’s squad was ranked as high as 25th in the NCAA during the 2010 season and have been among the top 10 in the region nearly every year.
McCullough has coached cross country runners to 71 All-MIAA performances over the past 20 seasons. Tiger harriers have also recorded 26 Central and South Central All-Region awards and 107 All-Academic awards during that span. Between cross country and track & field over the past 18 years, Tiger distance and middle distance runners have amassed more than 230 All-Conference awards. Middle distance and long distance runners have broken the school record in indoor and outdoor track a total of 60 times since 2005. The women’s cross country squad was named an All-Academic Team each of the past 19 seasons while the men’s squad has received 16 such awards. Both track teams have been named All-Academic Teams in each year of McCullough's tenure.
McCullough returned to the cross country and track & field squads after a successful running career with the Tiger program from 1996-99. McCullough was an NCAA Division II All-American in cross country and five-time Academic All-American while competing for the Tigers during that span. The four-time national qualifier also earned five all conference awards while competing in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, known for its national-caliber distance running reputation. He led the Tiger cross country squad to a 10th-place finish at the NCAA II meet in 1997, its highest finish since joining NCAA Division II. McCullough also owned the school record for 3,000 meters.
McCullough spent two seasons at Thomas More Prep-Marian High School as the head cross country/assistant track & field coach from 1999-2001. He served as a volunteer assistant with the FHSU track & field squad during the 2001-02 seasons. The 1999 FHSU graduate has also been active in the area running community, serving as both a race director and running club coordinator since graduating from FHSU. He started the Wild West 5K in 2007 and helped expand the race to nearly 300 participants.
McCullough also works in the Health and Human Performance department as an instructor. He earned his undergraduate degree from FHSU in English in 1999, completed a Master of Science degree in Sports Administration in 2001 and earned his Doctorate in curriculum and education in 2017. He completed a second bachelor degree in Spanish in May of 2005. He had also spent six years in the FHSU Sports Information Department, where he worked as the head Sports Information Director for three years. He was named Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference SID of the Year during the 2004-05 year. McCullough is just the fourth cross country coach in the 63-year history of the program. He resides in Hays with his wife, Karen, and their children, Elijah and Natalie.
| Cross Country Coaching History |
| Year |
Conference
Finish (M/W) |
All-Conference (M/W) |
Region Finish (M/W) |
All-Region (M/W) |
NCAA Finish |
| 2024 |
8th/3rd |
5 (2/3) - Diercks MIAA Champion |
12th/6th |
1 (0/1) |
Emily Diercks - 71st |
| 2023 |
8th/3rd |
4 (1/3) - Hodsden MIAA Champion |
12th/7th |
2 (0/2) |
Regan Hodsden - 51st |
| 2022 |
10th/5th |
2 (0/2) |
13th/10th |
2 (1/1) |
Regan Hodsden - 40th - All-American |
| 2021 |
7th/6th |
3 (1/2) |
7th/9th |
1 (1/0) |
Robbie Schmidt - 62nd |
| 2020 |
No season - pandemic |
|
|
|
|
| 2019 |
4th/6th |
4 (2/2) |
4th/13th |
3 (3/0) |
Men - 29th |
| 2018 |
3rd/5th |
4 (3/1) |
6th/8th |
1 (0/1) |
|
| 2017 |
7th/2nd |
4 (1/3) |
13th/10th |
2 (0/2) |
|
| 2016 |
4th/3rd |
5 (1/4) |
8th/4th |
4 (1/3) |
Women - 18th |
| 2015 |
4th/3rd |
6 (2/4) |
8th/6th |
2 (1/1) |
Cory Keehn - 13th - All-American |
| 2014 |
7th/4th |
3 (1/2) |
15th/9th |
1 (1/0) |
|
| 2013 |
7th/6th |
2 (2/0) |
7th/11th |
1 (1/0) |
Cory Keehn - 62nd |
| 2012 |
1st/8th |
5 (4/1) - Keehn MIAA Champion |
5th/14th |
2 (2/0) |
Cory Keehn - 56th |
| 2011 |
6th/6th |
3 (2/1) |
9th/12th |
1 (1/0) |
|
| 2010 |
6th/5th |
5 (2/3) |
13th/7th |
0 (0/0) |
|
| 2009 |
7th/5th |
1 (0/1) |
6th/6th |
0 (0/0) |
|
| 2008 |
4th/5th |
6 (3/3) |
7th/7th |
1 (1/0) |
|
| 2007 |
6th/5th |
3 (1/2) |
7th/4th |
0 (0/0) |
|
| 2006 |
4th/5th |
6 (4/2) |
4th/7th |
2 (1/1) |
Bridget Brown - 64th |
| 2005 |
5th/7th |
0 (0/0) |
11th/12th |
0 (0/0) |
|
|
RMAC in 2005, MIAA 2006-present |
|
|
|
| Indoor Track and Field Coaching History |
| Year |
MIAA Place (M/W) |
All-MIAA (M/W) |
MIAA Champions (M/W) |
NCAA Place (M/W) |
All-Americans (M/W) |
National Champions |
National Qualifiers (M/W) |
| 2025 |
7th/7th |
6 (3/3) |
0 (0/0) |
T-30th/- |
2 (1/1) |
0 |
4 (3/1) |
| 2023-24 |
4th/3rd |
7 (4/3) |
2 (1/1) |
T-30th/T-43rd |
5 (3/2) |
0 |
8 (6/2) |
| 2022-23 |
4th/5th |
10 (7/3) |
2 (2/0) |
24th/- |
5 (4/1) |
0 |
7 (5/2) |
| 2021-22 |
5th/5th |
10 (6/4) |
3 (2/1) |
T-15th/T-35th |
11 (6/5) |
1 |
13 (7/6) |
| 2020-21 |
5th/6th |
11 (6/5) |
4 (2/2) |
33rd/16th |
4 (2/2) |
1 |
4 (2/2) |
| 2019-20 |
8th/7th |
1 (1/0) |
0 (0/0) |
No meet - pandemic |
2 (1/1) |
- |
2 (1/1) |
| 2018-19 |
6th/7th |
8 (4/4) |
3 (3/0) |
32nd/- |
2 (2/0) |
0 |
4 (3/1) |
| 2017-18 |
6th/6th |
8 (5/3) |
4 (3/1) |
T-11th/- |
4 (4/0) |
0 |
4 (4/0) |
