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  Terry Long
Terry Long

Last College:
Florida State (1963)
Position:
Head Coach

Florida State University head coach Terry Long begins his 19 th season with the Seminoles, and his 15th as head coach, following yet another successful season in 2002, which was capped off with the men’s first ever outdoor ACC championship. His women’s outdoor and men’s indoor squads both enjoyed runner up finishes, while the women’s indoor team finished tied for fifth in the conference. Senior triple jumper Teresa Bundy won the national championship, the first for Florida State since Tonya Carter did so in the 60-meter dash during the 2000 season. In addition, the ACC Coach of the Year helped to lead six different Seminoles to All-America honors and his women’s outdoor team to a 22nd place finish at the NCAA championships.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Long continues the tradition 21 seasons after his father, Mike, retired as head coach at Florida State. Terry Long has been associated with the Seminole track program since he was 13 years old, when Mike Long began his head coaching legacy at FSU in 1953.

A few years later, Long formally joined the program as a student-athlete and lettered for the Tribe for four seasons. During his career as an FSU athlete, Long set new school records in all indoor and outdoor hurdle events as well as running on the school record setting 440, 880 and sprint medley relays. His senior year, he had the nation’s fastest time in the 220-yard hurdles. Long completed his bachelor’s degree in 1963 and his master’s in 1965, both at FSU. Long began his head coaching career at Leon High School in Tallahassee before moving on to Delray Beach Atlantic High School and then Lakeland High School.

Long built his reputation as one of the nation’s finest track coaches during 16 years of coaching at Seminole Community College, Sante Fe Community College and the University of Florida. While serving in the community college coaching ranks, Long produced over 200 All-Americans and 56 national champions. His teams won 16 state track and cross country titles and he was named national coach of the year three times. In 1982 and 1983, he guided the Sante Fe women’s track team to back-to-back national championships. During his tenure at Seminole Community College, Long was inducted into the Florida Track Hall of Fame. The sport of track has certainly been a tradition in the Long family. In addition to FSU Hall of Fame member Mike Long, for whom the school’s track facilities are named, his three sons all became coaches.

In 1985, Long rejoined Florida State as the head women’s track coach and coordinator of both the men’s and women’s track/cross country teams. Following the retirement of men’s coach Dick Roberts after the 1988 season, Long became the head coach of both the men’s and women’s teams.

As head coach and administrator of the programs, Long has continued a strong tradition of track success with 56 individuals earning All-America honors. His athletes have set 14 new school records in men’s track and 21 new school records in women’s track. While in the Metro Conference, Long’s men’s and women’s teams never lost a conference track championship. Since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference, Long has coached the men’s team to the 1995 ACC Indoor title and has been named ACC Coach of the Year and NCAA District III Coach of the Year. He followed that with the 2000 ACC Outdoor women’s title along with South Region and ACC Coach of the Year honors. In addition, Long was named ACC Coach of the Year and South Region Coach of the Year in 2002.

During his career, Long has coached numerous outstanding athletes. Notable among those athletes are Olympians Arthur Blake, World Champion and world record holder Kim Batten, two-time Olympic gold medalist Chandra Cheeseborough, Michelle Finn, Dennis Mitchell, Tom Reither, Esmerelda Garcia, Rey Robinson, and NCAA national champions Phillip Riley, Michelle Finn, Andrea Thompson, Janet Levy, Janet Davis, Tonya Carter, and Teresa Bundy, in the 2002 triple jump.

Long has been extremely active in track outside of Florida State and even the state of Florida. From 1978-85, he served as co-chairman of the USA Olympic Development Sprints Committee and was very active within the Olympic Development Elite Athlete Project. In 1984, he coached the USA men’s team in the first World Indoor Games held in Paris, France and has led other USA teams at international competitions held in Japan and Israel. Additionally, Long has served as head coach and assistant coach of the South Team in the USA Olympic Festival and was head coach for the Athletic Attic, Bud Light Track America and Mazda Track club teams which won six USATF national championships.

In 1977, Long co-founded one of the nation’s premier high school post-season championship team meets at the Golden South Track Classic in Orlando, Fla. He also served as its meet director from 1977-79 and was inducted into the Golden South Hall of Fame in 1985. In 1988 and 1994, Long brought the USA National Junior Track Championships to Florida State and he also served as the meet director for the National AAU Track Championships hosted in Tallahassee in 1992. 

LONG FILE: 
Years at Florida State: 19 years
Collegiate Coaching Experience: 34 years
At Florida State University – Men’s & Women’s Head Coach (1989 - Present),
     Women’s Head Coach (1985 - 1988)
University of Florida – Men’s Assistant Coach (1983 - 1985)
Santa Fe Community College – Head Coach (1982 - 1983)
Seminole Community College – Head Coach (1970 - 1982)
Florida State University – Graduate Assistant Track (1964 - 1965)


High School Coaching Experience:
Lakeland H.S. – Track & Cross Country (1968 - 1970)
Delray Beach Seacrest H.S. – Head Track Coach (1966 - 1968)
Leon H.S. – Head Swimming & Asst, Football (1965 - 1966)
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