University of North Alabama Director of Athletics Dr. Josh Looney announced a new leader for the UNA men’s and women’s cross country program on August 7, 2024 as Connor Callahan was named head coach. Callahan now enters his second season at UNA as the head coach of the men's and women's cross country prgrams in 2025.
Callahan joined UNA from Ohio Dominican, where he coached for six seasons. While leading both the cross country and track & field programs, Callahan helped develop the program’s first-ever indoor national qualifier for track & field and helped the Panthers break 30 school records.
In just one season at UNA, Callahan and the Lions made history as freshman Brian Bett won the 2024 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship with a time of 23:29.6. Under Callahan's watch, Bett became the first UNA student-athlete to win an ASUN Championship in any sport. Bett also broke multiple school records, including his own 8K record four straight races.
He finished with a men's record of 82-68 in his first year with a fifth overall placement at the ASUN Championship. The men's team polled at 15th in the South Regional during the early portion of the 2024 season. Callahan finished with a 51-112 record on the women's side with a 7th overall placement at the ASUN Championship. Both placements were improvements from the previous season.
“Our goal was to find an ascending, forward-thinking leader to help our cross country programs reach their full potential,” said Looney at the time of hire. “Coach Callahan has the right approach, vision and experience to grow our distance programs in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Our student-athletes and running community will be drawn to his passion for the sport and the positive energy he will pour into the program. We are thrilled to welcome Connor and his wife, Allison, to the Shoals!”
Prior to becoming head coach at Ohio Dominican, Callahan spent three seasons as an assistant at Saint Leo University in Florida. He helped the Lions win three conference championships and two South Regional titles. He started as a graduate assistant before being promoted to a full-time role in 2016.
“Coach Callahan’s passion for the sport, commitment to promoting a strong team dynamic, and supporting his student-athletes' academic success make him the perfect fit for our program,” said Senior Associate Athletic Director for Student Success Sherry Kennemer, who served as head coach of the program for four years and currently serves as the sport administrator. “We are confident that under Connor’s leadership, our student-athletes will succeed academically, engage actively in the community and perform well in competition.”
While at Saint Leo, Callahan coached 18 all-conference runners and nine all-region runners. He also coached 26 Sunshine State Conference Runner of the Week honorees and a number of postseason superlative winners.
“I want to thank Dr. Looney and the search committee for trusting in me to lead UNA Cross Country,” said Callahan at the time of hire. “I’m excited to get down to campus and get to work.”
A Columbus, Ohio native, Callahan obtained his bachelor of science degree in sport management from Ohio Dominican in May 2015. He later earned his master’s in business administration with a focus in sport business in 2017. Callahan is USATF and USTFCCCA certified.
