Duane Ross

Ross was born in Shelby, North Carolina, and grew up in Dallas, North Carolina, where he attended North Gaston High School. At the encouragement of his Football coach, Ross took up track and field as a way to rehabilitate an injured ankle.[2] As a junior, Ross went on to become NCHSAA state champion in the 110 metres Hurdles.[3] After receiving a number of scholarships from various collegiate teams, Ross signed with Clemson University.

As a college athlete at Clemson University, he won the 110 m hurdles at the 1995 NCAA championships for the Clemson Tigers. He made his first appearance on the world track stage at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships, where he finished fourth in the 60 meters hurdles competition, just behind compatriot Tony Dees. He returned at the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Maebashi, but again failed to reach the podium with another fourth-place finish, this time losing out to Falk Balzer. He had greater success outdoors that year, as he won the bronze medal in the 110 m hurdles at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics in his career personal best time of 13.12 seconds. An appearance at the 1999 IAAF Grand Prix Final, however, brought yet another fourth-place finish.[4]

He was the runner up at the 2004 United States Olympic Trials and competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. He failed to reach the final after running 13.30 seconds for fifth place in the semi-finals of the men's hurdles competition.[5]

Following the analysis of information received from BALCO in 2010, Ross was called to testify in a case against his coach Trevor Graham. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspended Ross for two years for attempted use, possession, and trafficking of performance-enhancing drugs.[6] As a term of his suspension, all his results from November 2001 onward were nullified.[7]

He returned to Clemson as a volunteer coach and in 1996. After retiring from international competition, Ross was hired by Division III Methodist University as Head Coach of their Track and Field program. While at Methodist, Ross coached the women's team to three Mason–Dixon Conference championships and placed in the top four at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships.[8] Ross also earned USTFCCCA South/Southeast Region Coach of the Year honors.[9] In 2012, after five seasons at Methodist, Ross was hired as director of track & field at Division I North Carolina A&T University. Under Ross, the Aggies swept both the men's and women's outdoor and indoor Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships for the first time in program history.[10] Following the success of the 2017 seasons, Ross coached 13 athletes, more than any HBCU in history, who competed in the 2017 NCAA Division I National Championships.[11]

In 2021, after leading North Carolina A&T's men's track and field team to a third place finish at the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Ross was named 2021 NCAA co-coach of the year.[12] Four athletes from the team went on to compete in the 2020 Summer Olympics, including Ross's son Randolph Ross and Trevor Stewart.[13]

In May 2022, Ross was hired as the new head coach at Tennessee, signing a five-year contract for $450,000 annually.[12]

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