Gator All-American Erin Tucker Hired as UF Assistant Track & Field Coach
Friday, July 15, 2011 | Track and Field
Erin Tucker, a four-time Southeastern Conference Track Champion and six-time All-American at the University of Florida from 1994-99, has returned to his alma mater where he has been named assistant track and field coach, Gator head coach Mike Holloway announced today.
“It's kind of surreal,” Tucker shared of returning to the University of Florida. “When I was at Florida in 1994 it was definitely not the team that it is now. During my time working with athletes at other schools I have seen the program grow and I'd like to think that I had a little something to do with that as an athlete in terms of the ideas that we left when we were done running and helped set the foundation. It is like a dream come true, but I'm hesitant to say that because I know that 'once a Gator, always a Gator' and I've never not been a Gator. It feels really good to come home again and do what I love to do at home.”
Tucker, the 2006 Mid-East Regional Men's Assistant Coach of the Year, rejoins the Gator family after spending the past eight seasons at the University of Kentucky. While with the Wildcats, Tucker helped lead the track and field program to some of the most successful seasons in program history. During his tenure at UK, Tucker coached 27 All-Americans, 26 All-SEC honorees, 15 All-Region athletes, six SEC champions, three NCAA runner-ups and an NCAA Champion (Rondel Sorrillo, 200m, 2010). Under Tucker's tutelage, 34 school records fell and 67 athletes ranked in the top-10 in school history.
Four Wildcats have participated in the Summer Olympics since Tucker took over as an assistant. Luis Luna was Tucker's first athlete to see Olympic action as he competed in the 400m for Venezuela in the 2004 Athens Games. In 2008, three of Tucker's athletes competed in the Beijing Olympics as Sorrillo (200m) and Mikel Thomas (110m high hurdles) competed for Trinidad and Tobago, while Jose Acevedo competed for Venezuela in the 200m.
During the 2008 Beijing Games, Tucker also made his coaching debut on the Olympic stage as he was hand chosen by the Venezuelan National Team to work with its sprinters as an assistant coach.
“Erin brings a lot of passion, creativity and excitement to an already great situation here at the University of Florida,” Holloway said. “He's an alumnus, he ran for me here and was an All-American. The biggest benefit is that Erin understands me and he understands what this program is all about and that makes me very excited for his return to work with the Gators.
“He has an incredible passion for his craft of coaching,” Holloway continued. “Erin is really passionate about having his athletes develop not only on the track but as people. I'm excited about that because I feel that it's a byproduct of his time here and what he learned as a student-athlete. He's truly understands what it means to be a Gator. He's coached All-Americans, SEC champions and Olympians. What people will see in Erin is his passion and his commitment to helping the Gators get better.”
Prior to his time in Lexington, Tucker, a UF team captain from 1997-99, spent three seasons as an assistant at the University of Illinois. While with the Illini, Tucker helped coach six All-Big Ten selections, a record breaking Big Ten Champion and an All-American. Additionally, during his stay in Champaign, Tucker's athletes broke multiple school records and posted 10 top-10 marks in program history.
Before entering coaching as a volunteer assistant with the Gators in the 1999-2000 season, Tucker enjoyed a prolific collegiate career at UF. A four-time SEC champion and a six-time All-American, Tucker won the 400-meter hurdles at the 1998 SEC Championships with a personal best time of 49.82, which still ranks as the sixth-fastest time in Florida history. Tucker also ran on three conference championship teams and four All-America mile relay teams for UF. Tucker was also a two-time All-SEC academic honoree at Florida, where he earned a B.A. in History and a Masters degree in Education.
Tucker, a USATF Certified Level I Track and Field Coach, lives with his fianc? April Sams and is the father of Ezra Tucker and the guardian of his cousin Quran Jackson.
Tucker replaces Dick Booth, who took a similar position at the University of Alabama.
