BATON ROUGE — LSU jumps and multi-events coach Boo Schexnayder has decided to leave the track and field program where he has spent the past 12 seasons to pursue other opportunities in the private sector, it was announced Wednesday by head coach Dennis Shaver.
Schexnayder is leaving LSU to become director of the CAP Elite Training Center in Baton Rouge as he is set to begin his new position July 1.
“Boo has been a tremendous asset for our team and this university over the last 12 years,” Shaver said. “We’re going to have a hard time replacing him. I’m sure it was a hard decision for him to leave LSU, but he’s moving on to new challenges and we wish him the very best.”
Schexnayder helped lead both the LSU men’s and women’s teams to a national runner-up finish at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships this past weekend. He coached a pair of athletes to All-America honors with Andrea Linton finishing fifth in the women’s triple jump and Jeremy Hicks taking seventh in the men’s long jump.
In all, Schexnayder has coached 60 All-Americans during his time at LSU, while his athletes have taken LSU to the pinnacle of collegiate track and field as they have won a total of 19 NCAA individual titles and 43 SEC individual titles in his 12 seasons as coach.
“It’s been a great ride, and I wouldn’t change a thing about my time at LSU,” Schexnayder said. “I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the best athletes and coaches in the world in my 12 years here, and it’s been an honor for me to coach and work with each one of them. LSU will always be a special place to me.”
Schexnayder’s success as a jumps and multi-events coach is not limited to the collegiate ranks as he has had the opportunity to coach seven Olympians and a number of participants in the IAAF World Indoor and Outdoor Championships.
Two of his prized pupils ? former LSU standouts Walter Davis and John Moffitt ? have enjoyed great success on the international stage in recent years. Davis is the reigning IAAF world indoor and outdoor triple jump champion and a two-time Olympian, while Moffitt won the silver medal in the long jump at the 2004 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
Davis is one of the most prolific athletes in the history of LSU track and field as he finished his two-year career in 2002 as a nine-time All-American and six-time NCAA champion in both horizontal jumps. Moffitt also enjoyed a stellar career as a six-time All-American and two-time national champion.
Schexnayder now has his sights set on the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, as he was recently named jumps and multi-events coach for the USA men’s track and field team on March 15.