Gauson Inked to New Five-Year Contract Through 2030

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — University of New Mexico Vice President/Director of Athletics Fernando Lovo has announced that Head Cross Country/Track & Field Coach Darren Gauson has received a five-year contract that will keep Gauson at the helm of UNM’s nationally ranked programs through the 2029-30 season.

“Darren has elevated every aspect of our program,” said Lovo. “In just two years, he’s built a championship culture and a team that consistently performs on the national stage. His leadership, vision, and ability to develop talent are exactly what we look for. Securing Coach Gauson was a top priority. He embodies what we’re about: excellence and championships.”

Gauson in just two seasons at UNM has won five Mountain West Coach of the Year Awards, being named Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year in both 2023 and 2024, Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2024 and both Women’s Indoor and Women’s Outdoor Coach of the Year in 2025.  In that span, his teams have won five Mountain West titles, four of which have come this year.

That included UNM’s first Mountain West title in women’s outdoor track and field, a win which clinched the first sweep of all three women’s titles in UNM history.

“I am very appreciative of President Stokes, the Board of Regents, and Athletic Director Fernando Lovo for their amazing support of Lobo Cross Country and Track & Field,” said Gauson. “Sustained excellence is only possible when there is clear alignment and strong support—qualities that are firmly in place at the University of New Mexico. It is a tremendous honor to serve this program and I am eager to bring future championships to our great state. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to Amy Beggin and my dedicated staff for their invaluable contributions. I look forward to continuing to build championship-caliber teams alongside them.”

In his two seasons with UNM, Gauson has coached eight All-Americans in cross country including three runner-up finishes, along with 11 All-Americans in indoor and outdoor track and field to go with one national champion and one runner-up. That number will likely increase as UNM heads to the NCAA Outdoor National Championships next week.  UNM qualified 11 student-athletes into the field, second only to Harvard among non-P4 institutions, and tied for the second-most all-time at UNM.  UNM ranks tied for 28th among the 68 Power-4 conference schools in terms of total qualifying student-athletes.

The 11 qualifiers came after sending a whopping 27 to the NCAA West Regionals, up from 12 a year ago. In the 2024-25 academic year alone, New Mexico athletes set 22 new program records with 58 performances that rank among the Top 10 in program history – among them, eight performances ranked among the Top 5 in collegiate history.

In 2024-25, the Lobo cross country teams both finished in the national Top 10 for the first time in school history, with the women’s team finishing seventh and the men’s team finishing ninth. In both the men’s and women’s races, UNM had the national runner-up, including a miraculous finish by Habtom Samuel, who ran much of the race in Wisconsin on a frozen track with just one shoe after losing it halfway through the race.

UNM’s men’s point total of 272 in that 2024 race was the lowest in program history.

The Lobos’ sweep of the men’s and women’s cross country titles were the first for UNM – and in the Mountain West – since 2014.  UNM’s Pamela Kosgei was a finalist for the Honda Sports Award, recognizing the best student-athlete in cross country.  At different points this season, Kosgei, Habtom Samuel and Ishmael Kipkurui have all been named to the Bowerman Watch List, awarded to the top track & field athlete in the country.

Prior to UNM, Gauson served as the head coach at Bradley, where he won 10 conference championships out of a possible 14 conference titles in cross country over eight seasons (six men’s, four women’s). Prior to Bradley, he was the head coach at Lamar, winning four titles (two men’s, two women’s) in cross country over three seasons from 2012-14.