Steve Dudley - Assoc. Head Coach

Born: February 24, 1973
Birthplace: Atlanta, GA
College: Mississippi State, 1995

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An integral part of the Bulldogs' success since his return to Starkville, Steve Dudley begins his seventh year at Mississippi State as the associate head coach for the track and field squads and head coach of the men's cross country team.

Through six seasons back on campus, Dudley has tutored 13 athletes to all-American status since his return to his alma mater in 2000. Last season, Dudley led five Bulldog sprinters to regional qualifying marks, including four individuals in the 400-meter dash. Chris Woods made a trip to the NCAA postseason in the 800-meter run. The 2006 edition of State's 4x400-meter relay team of juniors Bruce Davis, Ezra Jones, Arthur Davis and Nathan Daniels ran 3 minutes, five seconds to finish seventh at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The finish by the quartet garners A. Davis with his third all-America honor in the event, while B. Davis, Jones and Daniels collected their first.

In 2005, Dudley guided MState's 4x400-meter relay squad to a fifth-place finish at the national championships and broke a school record held for more than a decade (3:01.63). As a result, senior Jamel Ashley, freshman Elzie Coleman, Arthur Davis, senior LaChristopher Lewis, Kendall Pyant II and Chris Woods earned all-America status. In the 4x100-meter relay, Ashley, Lewis, sophomore Eliott Morant and Mullings tied a school record with a 39.09 clocking at the Texas Relays. Mullings, Ashley, Davis and Lewis combined to finish third in the event at the SEC Championships. Since the 2003 Penn Relays, the Bulldogs have failed to win the 4x200-meter relay only once.

Former Bulldog Steve Mullings posted the fastest regional-qualifying time in the country in the 100-meter dash (10.06) and won the Southeastern Conference and Mideast Regional championships. In his final season for the Maroon and White, Jamel Ashley garnered all-America honors with a second-place finish in the 400-meter dash at the national championships. Ashley's 44.75 broke a school record he set a day earlier.

At the 2004 SEC Championships, Ashley, Davis, Keston Nelson and Lewis finished second in the 4x4. Ashley took eighth in the 400 at the national meet, while the 4x4 squad finished third.

Pierre Browne was named the 2003 NCAA Indoor national champion in the 60-meter dash and finished runner-up in the 100 at the outdoor national meet. Marquis Davis finished second in the 200 at the outdoor national meet the same season. Throughout the season, four of his athletes accumulated six all-America honors. Dudley's first season in Starkville saw his athletes earn eight all-America accolades.

In three seasons at Bevill State (Ala.) Community College, Dudley coached three NJCAA national champions and 19 all-Americans. In cross country, the men's and women's squads captured the Region XXII title in 1999. The Bears also won the 1998 Region XXII title en route to a third-place national showing. His 1999 Lady Bear team earned Academic Team of the Year honors, and the men finished second the same season. Twelve Bears earned Academic all-America accolades.

Before entering the coaching ranks, Dudley served as a captain for MSU's track team from 1991-95. While at State, he was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll for three years (1993-95). He currently ranks fifth on MSU's all-time superlatives list in two categories--the indoor 5000-meter run and the outdoor 10,000-meter run.

The Hamilton, Ala.-native graduated with a bachelor's degree in May 1995. He received his master's degree in environmental geology from State in December 2004.