Oct. 5, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. — University of Kentucky track and field head coach Edrick Floreal has finalized his coaching staff for the 2013 campaign with the addition of Roderick Dotts as an assistant coach.
Dotts will assist with the Wildcats sprints, hurdles and jumps groups after serving four years as a volunteer assistant coach at his alma mater, the University of Oregon.
“Coach Dotts’ ability to connect with the current student-athletes both as a coach and a former collegiate competitor will positively impact our team,” Floreal said. “His experience as a winning coach from a storied and successful track and field program will strengthen our staff.”
Dotts joins Hakon DeVries, Jason Dunn, Andrew Ninow and Will Thomas as members of Floreal’s coaching staff.
During his time as a coach in Eugene, Ore., Dotts helped the Ducks earn back-to-back women’s indoor national titles in 2010 and 2011 to go along with a men’s indoor national championship in 2009. The Ducks won the men’s Pac-10 Championship all four seasons Dotts was on staff at Oregon and three more women’s conference titles.
Dotts coached two men’s 4×400-meter relay teams to All-American recognition as those teams featured Ashton Eaton, a future Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in the decathlon. Dotts also helped Mike Berry to All-American status in 2011 for his performance in the 400 meters.
Oregon’s Keisha Baker, now an Olympic gold medalist herself, was an All-American in both the indoor and outdoor 400 meters during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Six more individual women earned All-America honors while Dotts was coaching at Oregon, and five women’s sprint relay teams earned the same recognition.
Six women’s sprinters won the Pac-10 title and two sprint relay teams took the conference championship between 2008 and 2011.
Dotts competed two seasons for the Ducks as a member of Oregon’s first-ever NCAA 4×400-meter relay team. That team set then-school records in the event (3:06.54/3:09.13) during the 2004 season.
In his 2005 senior season, Dotts scored in the 800 meters (sixth, 1:49.05) at the Pac-10 Championships.
Dotts competed two seasons for Barton Community College before arriving at Oregon. He was a key member of the Cougars’ 2003 indoor junior college national championship team with wins in the 600 meters (1:18.19) and 1,000 meters (2:29.36) as major contributions. That year he also helped BCC to the outdoor national title competing in the 800 meters, 4×400 (second) and 4×800 (third).
Dotts graduated from Oregon with a degree in sociology. Originally a native of East St. Louis, Ill., He competed for Cahoka High School.
