River States Conference

BECKLEY, WV (July 23, 2008) - Mountain State University announced this week that they will be starting Men's & Women's Cross-Country and Track & Field, beginning with the 2008-09 school year. MSU has hired veteran coach Bruce Cox to take the reigns of both fledgling programs.

Cox comes to MSU after serving one year as the head cross-country coach at WVU Institute of Technology of the NAIA Mid-South Conference. Prior to WVU Tech, Cox served seven years as the head coach at NCAA DII University of Charleston, where he successfully started both programs and they were consistently strong contenders in both the WVIAC & NCAA DII East Region.

Coach Cox is a strong proponent of 'building from home', and will focus very heavily on recruiting & developing local student-athletes to be the foundation of the new MSU programs. Regarding his new position he says, "I'm extremely excited about the opportunity we have to build a strong program at MSU. With the support that's become apparent within the athletic department and throughout the institution, I'm confident that we can build competitive teams within the KIAC the NAIA and our region at-large. All my teams in the past have been predominantly West Virginia kids," he said. "Look what Sean Cleary is doing at WVU; they were ninth in the nation in NCAA DI women's cross-country with six West Virginia kids on the team."

Of Cox, Anthony Polk, MSU assistant athletic director, said, "We're excited he's here, and we think he'll do a good job. He's got a good work ethic. Our expectations are high, and we think he's a good fit. "We're moving forward in athletics," Polk continued. "We're taking the next step. "Our intention is to build a really good athletic program."