Head coaches announced for new Texas A&M - Texarkana men's and women's cross country teams; women's volleyball team

The head coaches for the new TAMUT men's and women's cross country teams and the women's volleyball team were announced today at a press conference in Texarkana.

The announcement was held in the gym located in the Lois & Cary Patterson Student Center.

The A&M-Texarkana athletic department will be adding men's and women's cross country and women's volleyball to the program in the fall of 2022, bringing the total number of intercollegiate athletic teams at the university to 11. 

The expansion of the athletic program to 11 teams is expected to bring an additional 45 student-athletes to campus for the upcoming fall semester. 

The university has hired Natnael Amare as the head coach of the new cross country teams. Amare comes to A&M-Texarkana from Texas Wesleyan University. Amare says that in addition to the athletic competition, he plans to use the cross country program to expose more people to the beautiful A&M-Texarkana campus.

The program will host two high-school cross country meets and one college meet on campus each fall, with plans to introduce a community 5K race. 

Madeleine Halford has been selected as the inaugural coach of the new women's volleyball team at A&M-Texarkana. 

Halford comes to TAMUT, having spent the past four years as the head volleyball coach at John Wood Community College in Quincy, IL. 

The volleyball team will arrive in time to begin preseason training on August 1, with the team's first matches scheduled later that same month. 

The volleyball team will play home matches in the gym inside the Lois & Cary Patterson Student Center.

"We are thrilled to be adding these two teams to our athletic program," said A&M-Texarkana President Dr. Emily Cutrer. "These will bring another level of excitement to the campus and enhance the overall experience of everyone at the university."