Jeff Langdon is Belmont University's director of cross country and track and field. While his current title was given to him in 2013, Langdon has been coaching at Belmont in one capacity or another since 1986, when he started out as a part-time assistant coach for the Bruins.
Langdon’s initial coaching experience came as the women’s cross country head coach, but he soon took over both programs in the early 1990’s. A role in which he served until Belmont transitioned to NCAA Division I in 1996-97, at which time he became the head coach for both the men’s cross country and men’s track and field teams. Langdon led the men’s programs until he was named director of cross country and track and field.
During his tenure as the men’s coach, Belmont’s cross country program reached unprecedented heights, capturing an Atlantic Sun Conference record six consecutive conference championships from 2002-07. His teams finished in the top four at the NCAA South Regional Championships on three different occasions and were ranked as high as No. 2 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) South Region poll.
Langdon has developed numerous cross country individual conference champions, conference runners and freshmen of the year and all-conference performers. Additionally, Langdon’s athletes have qualified for the NCAA National Cross Country Championship race 12 times, including William Kemey who qualified a school record four times. All told, Langdon has produced 15 all-region cross country runners who have captured 24 All-South Region honors.
Under Langdon’s guidance, the women’s cross country team has seen tremendous growth, earning a conference title in two of three seasons across two different conferences. The Bruins won the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Championship in Belmont’s last year in the league before claiming the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Championship. The title was the school’s first postseason championship in the MVC.
For his teams’ success on the course, Langdon has been named conference coach of the year eight times in the Bruins’ NCAA era.
In track and field, Langdon has taken the men’s and women’s programs to new heights with multiple athletes qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships First Round numerous years.
Adding to Belmont’s competitive success, Langdon’s squads have excelled in the classroom. His cross country teams are historically ranked in the top-20 nationally in overall team grade-point average. The men’s cross country team achieved the highest GPA in the nation in both 2005 and 2007, while the women’s cross country team held the seventh-highest team GPA in the country in 2022. College Sports Communicators (CSC), formerly College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), Academic All-District® and USTFCCCA All-Academic awards are an annual occurrence for Langdon’s student-athletes.
For Langdon, coaching is a natural extension from his competitive days at Belmont where he ran from 1979-83 under head coach Dave Young. He was an outdoor track All-American in the marathon (2:24:50) and the 1982 NAIA District 24 individual champion. Langdon has been inducted into both his high school and county hall of fame. He is a 1994 Belmont Athletic Hall of Fame inductee.
In addition to coaching, Langdon serves on the board of directors for African and American Partnership for Social and Economic Development. He is also an advisor for Belmont Navigators, an interdenominational campus ministry.
A native of Fairfield, Ohio, Jeff and his wife, Kelly, are founding members of Grace Community Church in Brentwood, Tennessee. They have one daughter, Jenna.
Accolades
- MVC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year (2023)
- OVC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year (2021)
- Six-Time ASUN Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year (2002-07)
