Florida State track, cross country coach Bob Braman announces retirement

Release from Florida State Sports Information:

Bob Braman, Florida State’s legendary Track & Field and Cross Country head coach, announced Wednesday that he is retiring from coaching. Currently finishing his 21st season as a head coach at FSU, a tenure that ranks second in Seminole track and field history, Braman will conclude his coaching career at the upcoming NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships to be held next week. 

Braman created a championship legacy highlighted by three NCAA men’s outdoor national titles (2006, 2007 and 2008) and an ACC-record 33 conference titles (25 men’s and 8 women’s). The 2010-11 John McDonnell Award Winner as the nation’s top coach, Braman’s tenure as head coach saw FSU emerge as one of the nation’s most consistent national contenders as his teams earned a combined 20 Top 10 NCAA Championship finishes. On the conference level, Braman’s unmatched success included 13 men’s outdoor team titles, 12 men’s indoor titles, four women’s outdoor titles and four women’s indoor championships. 

“After 24 years at Florida State University, and previously 17 years at the University of South Florida, I’m announcing my retirement today,” Braman said. “It was my dream to be a collegiate coach and it’s been my privilege to have lived that dream for the last 41 years. The titles and successes have been less important than the many wonderful relationships that me and my family have shared with so many great coaches and young athletes. Watching them all bloom into great successes in their own right has been rewarding beyond measure.” 

“To call Bob Braman a legend just isn’t adequate – his impact on our program in all facets is indelible and incomparable,” said Michael Alford, FSU Vice President and Director of Athletics. “All Seminoles owe Bob a debt of gratitude for the class and dignity with which he led our program, in addition to the standard of success he created. We look forward to saluting Bob and his wife, Debbie, and their family for all they’ve done for FSU track and field and the Seminole Athletics legacy. Bob will forever be a Seminole in the deepest sense, and we wish him and his family the very best.” 

Individually, Braman’s impressive stable of elite performers includes two Bowerman Award Winners – Trey Cunnigham (2022) and Ngoni Makusha (2011) – and Adrian Wildschut’s runner-up finish at the 2020 NCAA Cross Country Championships is the highest finish ever by a Seminole. Overall, Braman’s student-athletes earned 40 individual NCAA national titles and 428 All-American honors. 

Over the course of his career, Braman earned a combined total of 50 national, regional and conference Coach of the Year (COY) honors, including three consecutive USTFCCCA National of the Year honors (2006-08) for outdoor track and field. On the conference level, Braman was named ACC Coach of the Year 28 times, and he earned 19 South Region COY honors. 

Braman’s stature as one of the top distance coaches in the nation is borne out by the success of FSU’s cross country program during his tenure. Over the last 24 years, FSU’s men’s team has made 15 NCAA appearances, highlighted by a runner-up finish in 2010 and a fifth-place showing in 2012. He led FSU’s women’s cross country team to their first three NCAA national championship appearances (2002, 2003 and 2006).

FSU won the ACC triple crown in 2008-09 and 2013-14, sweeping the conference’s cross country, indoor and outdoor team titles. FSU also has earned five NCAA South Region cross country team titles under Braman’s leadership. 

“I have been privileged to work with some of the truly great coaches in our sport here at Florida State,” Braman said. “In my 21 years as head coach, we have worked together to make FSU one of the premier track and field programs in the country. I’m extremely proud of the three national championships that we won, and the dozens of ACC titles we collected, and I will miss the battles for even more of them. 

“My greatest thanks goes to (former FSU athletics director) Dave Hart and Charlie Carr (former FSU senior associate athletics director) for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to lead this program back in 2003,” Braman said. “I’ve been blessed to have many great administrators to work for and I believe that Michael Alford will take the baton and reinvest in the track and field program so the Noles can chase those nattys again. 

“Debbie and I will get in our own trips now, always with our grown sons by our sides, but I do hope to stay involved in the sport and find new ways to help young people find their path.” 

A national search for a head coach will begin immediately. 

Talk about this story with other die-hard Florida State football fans on the Tribal Council.