Jason Francis enters his fourth season at the helm of the University of Dayton women's track and field program. He joined the Flyers on July 14, 2011 and works with sprints, hurdles, jumps, and combined events student-athletes.
In his time at Dayton, Francis has played an integral role in getting the Flyers back to prominence, not only in the Atlantic 10, but also on the national stage. In just his first three years at UD, Francis has helped lead the Flyers to a pair of runner-up finishes in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships. On top of that, he has coached eight conference champions, three NCAA East Preliminary Round meet qualifiers, and numerous academic and athletic honorees. The Dayton women’s track and field program has developed into a perennial conference title contender in Francis’ tenure.
Francis’ teams have rewritten the Dayton record books with 32 new school records and 85 Top 5 All-Time performances, both indoor and outdoor. In order to continue the success of the program, Francis brought in three new full time coaches with years of experience to help develop the student-athletes to the best of their abilities. He also led the charge in the design, fundraising, and building a new state-of-the art throwing facility in 2013. Within the next year, the Flyers will also be adding a new athletic performance center located in the Frericks Center on campus. The future looks bright for Dayton Track and Field.
Academically, the Dayton women’s track and field program has been a leader for the athletic department. The USTFCCCA has award the Flyers as an All-Academic Team for three straight years and recognized three individuals for Academic All-American status (Gleason – 2013, Siebenaller – 2012, Zimmerman – 2012, 2011). In 2013-14, Dayton had a team GPA of 3.489 which was the 19th best in the nation and tied atop the A-10.
Last season, Francis led Dayton to a runner-up finish at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships in Rhode Island. The Flyers had eight All-Conference performers, including a conference title by Aly Weeman (weight throw). At the Outdoor A-10 Championships, Dayton took fifth place and had conference champions in Nicole Cargill (3000m steeplechase) and Aly Weeman (hammer throw) while Hanna Krizmanic (pole vault) earned silver and Katy Garcia(high jump) picked up bronze. During the season, Dayton watched multiple school records fall. Cargill set a new school record in the 3000m steeplechase while Maya Pedersen had a pair of all-time marks in the 100m and 200m events. The indoor 4x800m relay team made up of Katie Ollier, Chelsea VanHook, Cargill, and Lizzie Gleason also posted the best mark in school history.
In the 2012-13 school year, the Flyers finished fourth at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships and fifth at the Outdoor Conference Championships. The Flyers led both events after the first days of competition. Dayton added even more A-10 medals to its history books during the indoor meet with podium performances by Hanna Krizmanic (1st in pole vault), Katrina Steinhauser (2nd in pole vault), and Ashley DeMange (3rd in pole vault). As a team, the Flyers also had a second-place finish at the Miami Invitational and third-place finish at the Oliver Nikoloff Invite in Cincinnati during the outdoor campaign. Indoords, Dayton took third at the YSU National Invitational and third at the Bowling Green Opener. Freshman Olivia Albers continued her season at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Junior Championships in Iowa where she finished fifth overall in the 3000m steeplechase event, competing against some of the top runners in the country.
In his first year at UD, Francis helped the program to a second place finish at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships and a fifth place finish at the A-10 Outdoor Championships. He has continued the recent success of the Flyers in a number of both track and field events. Once again, the Flyers took home titles in pole vault (Hanna Krizmanic and Katrina Steinhauser) and had seven All-Conference performers.
Francis came from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, where he was the associate head track and field coach. During his seven-year tenure with the Panthers, he coached the men’s program to seven consecutive Horizon League Indoor and Outdoor Team Championships – 14 total. In the same time, the women’s program has produced eight championships. Francis helped establish a tradition of success with the men’s track and field program, which holds the third longest active conference winning streak in Division I with 16 straight Horizon League Men’s Conference titles.
With specializations in sprints, hurdles, jumps and combined events, Francis has mentored student-athletes to success at the national and regional levels. Over 150 of his student-athletes have claimed Individual or Relay Horizon League Championships, four of which were named the league’s Athlete of the Year. Francis has had 25 qualify for NCAA Preliminaries and coached Samia Taylor to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the triple jump in 2011.
Under his tutelage Milwaukee’s Top 10 marks in men’s and women’s springs, hurdles, 800 meters jump and combined events have been completely rewritten. Francis’ student-athletes also excel in the classroom, a number of Panthers have been selected to the Horizon League’s Academic Honor Roll. Additionally, each of his programs held a team GPA of 3.00 or higher during 2010-11.
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Prior to his time at Milwaukee, Francis served as a volunteer assistant pole vault coach at Division II Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill for one season. At Lewis, he mentored two national champions in the pole vault and coached six to Division II All-American selections.
Francis was also a volunteer assistant at his alma mater Indiana State University for two seasons. While at ISU, his vaulters broke the women’s indoor and outdoor pole vault records. Four of his student-athletes were named to the Missouri Valley All-Conference team and one was a regional qualfier for the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships.
Francis' affiliation with Indiana State began as a student-athlete, as he competed in the pole vault and decathlon. Four times he was named to the all-conference team, including in 2001, when he won the outdoor conference championship in the decathlon. A Downers Grove, Ill., native, Francis began at DuPage Junior College after a standout prep career at Downers Grove North High School.
He earned is Master of Arts in Exercise Science from Indiana State in 2003, and completed his Bachelor of Science in Sports Studies from ISU in 2001.
Francis is USATF Level II certified in jumps, sprints, hurdles, combined events and throws.
