Russ Jewett began his tenure as a full-time member of the Pittsburg State University athletic department in 1985.
Jewett has served as an assistant athletic director since 1989, assuming the role of Senior Associate Athletic Director in 2011. He assumed the positions of PSU head men’s and women’s track & field coach in 1987, PSU’s head women’s cross country coach in 1986 and head men’s cross country coach in 1989. Jewett announced his retirement from his coaching responsibilities on June 4, 2021.
In cross country, Jewett has led the PSU women to 11 MIAA titles – including the past three MIAA Championships (2017-19) – and 13 trips to the NCAA Division II National Championships. While the PSU men have not garnered an MIAA title, the Gorillas have made five NCAA Division II National Championships appearances, including three straight trips from 2007-09.
In track & field, Jewett has guided the Gorilla men to 12 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association outdoor titles, including four in a row from 2012-15, and six MIAA indoor crowns. He has led the Pitt State women to 12 MIAA outdoor titles, including five straight championships (2015-19), as well as seven MIAA indoor championships (three straight, 2017-19).
Jewett guided the women’s program to the 2016 NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championship – the first national championship in women's program history. He was named the 2016 NCAA Division II Women’s Outdoor National Coach of the Year following the season.
Jewett followed up that national crown by leading the men's program to the 2018 NCAA Division II Indoor National Championship – the first national championship in men's program history. He was named the 2018 NCAA Division II Men's Indoor National Coach of the Year following that season as well.
Additionally, he garnered NCAA Division II Women’s Indoor National Coach of the Year accolades in 1995; and Jewett has been honored as MIAA Coach of the Year 44 times since PSU joined the league in 1989, more than any other conference coach during that span. Most recently he was named the 2019 MIAA Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year after leading the Gorillas to their third consecutive conference crown.
The women’s cross country team has captured MIAA titles in 1991, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2010, 2011, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
The PSU women own MIAA outdoor titles from 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2004, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. The Gorilla women also garnered MIAA indoor titles in 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
His men’s track & field squad captured the MIAA outdoor titles in 1990, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2018. PSU also has won MIAA indoor titles in 1993, 1995, 2014, 2015 and 2018.
In addition to team success, Gorilla track & field and cross country student-athletes have earned NCAA Division II All-America honors on more than 300 occasions under Jewett, including 34 individual event national champions in the sports.
In men’s track & field, the Gorillas have placed among the top 25 teams in NCAA Division II in 23 of 30 outdoor seasons under Jewett (25 times, indoors). PSU has placed among the top 10 teams nine times during the outdoor season including a fourth-place finish in 1999 and fifth-place finishes in 2014 and 2015. The Gorillas have six top 10 indoor finishes including a third-place finish in 1995, a sixth-place finish in 2000 and the national championship in 2018.
In women’s track & field, PSU has placed among the top 25 teams in NCAA Division II 22 times in the last 30 outdoor seasons (18 times, indoors). The Gorillas have seven top 10 outdoor finishes including a fifth-place finish in 2015, the 2016 NCAA Division II National Championship and a fourth-place finish in 2017. Pitt State has seven top 10 indoor finishes including back-to-back fourth-place finishes (2016-17) and a fifth-place finish in 2018.
A native of Olathe, Kan., Jewett graduated cum laude from PSU in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and mathematics. He was a three-time CSIC champion hurdler and an All-American decathlete in 1982, placing second at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships.
Jewett served as the chair of the NCAA Track & Field Committee, which oversees all levels of NCAA Track & Field competition (Division I, II, & III), from 2005-06.
Russ’ wife, Janice, is an instructor in the Health, Human Performance and Recreation Department at PSU. The couple has a daughter, Sarah, and a son, Will.
