Bob Braman Hometown: Tampa, Fla. Position: Men's Head Coach Experience: 10th Season Alma Mater: University of Florida '80

• 2006, '07 and '08 NCAA Division I Men's National Outdoor Track Coach of the Year
• 2005, '06 and '07 NCAA East Region Men's Outdoor Track Coach of the Year
• 2005, '06, '07, `08 and `09 NCAA South Region Men's Indoor Track Coach of the Year
• 2004 and '05 NCAA South Region Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year
• 2006 and '07 NCAA South District Men's Outdoor Track Coach of the Year
• 2005, '06, '07, `08 and `09 ACC Men's Outdoor Track Coach of the Year
• 2005, '06, '07, `08 and `09 ACC Men's Indoor Track Coach of the Year
• 2003 ACC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year

While he is quick to point out the people around him, Florida State head coach Bob Braman has been the architect behind the transformation of Tallahassee into the one of the top destinations for some of the world's best distance runners. Braman is entering his 10th season as the Seminoles cross country head coach and has the crew on the right path towards the same success.

There is no question that Braman has had a tremendous impact on the resurrection of the FSU cross country programs. After a 22-year NCAA Championship drought, the men's team has become a staple at the national summit and the women have been at the national meet five of the last seven years.

In the nine seasons prior to his arrival, Florida State did not have a single All-ACC runner, but since then, the Seminoles have earned 27 conference accolades. Six of the nine women's All-Americans - including 2006, 07 and 08 recipient Susan Kuijken - have come under his watch and Andrew Lemoncello broke a 24-year dry spell for the men in 2005.

The 2008 season saw the women's team claim its second consecutive third place finish at the NCAA Championships as a trio of Seminoles earned All-America honors. The men claimed a 26th place finish in Terre Haute, Ind. under Braman's tutelage.

Over the last six years, the men have finished no lower than third at the NCAA South Regional meet. The 2008 team had five runners earn All-Region honors, tying the 2003, 2005 and 2007 teams for the most recipients.

In the summer of 2008 in Beijing, China, three of Braman's protégés represented Great Britain in the Summer Olympics. Andrew Lemoncello and Barbara Parker took part in the steeplechase while Tom Lancashire ran in the 1500m. All told, 11 current and former Seminole track and field athletes took part in the Beijing Games.

The 2007 season may have been the best year for the Seminole cross country program. Highlighting the year was a third-place finish at the NCAA Championship by the women's program with Susan Kuijken and Barbara Parker finishing in the top 10 to bring home All-America honors. The women preceded that feat with their first ACC and NCAA South Region championships.

A talented group of newcomers gave the men's squad a great infusion of new blood for 2007 and set the team up for years to come. Hampered with an injury for most of the season, senior Luke Gunn came back as strong as ever and led the men to a 20th-place finish - their third Top 20 showing in the last four years - at the national championships.

Guided by All-America selections Lemoncello and Lancashire, the 2006 men's team captured its second NCAA South Regional title in three years. Joining the duo on the All-South Region team were Gunn and Mark Buckingham. The women also had four runners on the All-South Region team, led by Kuijken as she won the event, with Amy Huss, Jessica Crate and Abi Wilshire helping the team to a fourth place finish.

In a preview to the 2007 season, the women's squad took 21st at the 2006 NCAA Championships with Kuijken crossing the line 27th to capture All-America accolades. The men came in 30th during their fourth-straight appearance at the meet.

The men's squad posted its fourth-straight second-place finish at the 2006 ACC meet, while the women came in fourth, which was then the best finish in school history. A look at the career top 10 list shows that every slot on the women's list is owned by one of Braman's runners and eight of the 10 best men's times is by one of his protégés.

Braman's distance coaching acumen has translated onto the track as well. Over the last five years his distance runners have helped produce 15 top-four finishes at the NCAA Championships, which is more than any distance coach in the country.

In 2005, he coached the men's team to its third consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships where it finished 18th and Lemoncello placed 21st individually. His efforts earned Braman NCAA South Region Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year for the second-straight season. Lemoncello also won his second-straight individual ACC title and broke the 25-year-old school record in the 8K. At the ACC Championships, the Seminoles finished in second for the third consecutive year and their point total of 38 was the lowest ever by any FSU squad. For the second year in a row the Seminoles put a school-record four runners on the All-ACC team.

The women's team just missed qualifying for nationals by one spot as it finished third at the NCAA South Regional. However, Laura Bowerman earned one of two at-large bids to nationals.

The 2004 season was one of the men's best under Braman as the team took 17th, the best by a Seminole team since 1981. The men won their first NCAA South Regional title and Braman earned regional Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year honors. Lemoncello won the Seminoles' first individual ACC Championship and the men's team finished in second-place, just one point shy of first. On the women's side, FSU placed fourth at regionals where Bowerman and Natalie Hughes each earned All-South Region honors.

During the 2003 season, both cross country squads went to the NCAA Championship meet. Vicky Gill and Hughes earned All-America status en route to an 18th-place finish, which was the best finish in program history and up 10 spots from the previous year's team. In addition to earning All-America honors, Gill won her second NCAA South Region meet and NCAA South Region Athlete of the Year honors. On the men's side, FSU qualified as a team for the first time since 1981 after setting program bests by finishing second at the ACC and NCAA South Regional meets. In addition, Braman was honored as the ACC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year.

In 2002, Braman's men's cross country squad placed fifth at the ACC Championships and fourth in the South Region, narrowly missing an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. Under Braman's guidance, Joep Tigchelaar earned his second-straight trip to the NCAA Championships with an automatic bid. Tigchelaar was the first Seminole to earn All-ACC Cross Country honors twice.

The women earned a sixth-place finish at the ACC Championships, the NCAA South Region runner-up spot and FSU's first appearance in the NCAA Championships. Gill finished 15th at the NCAA Championships to become FSU's first female athlete to earn All-America accolades since 1981.

In 2001, Braman's second season in Tallahassee, both the men's and women's teams earned national rankings. The men finished the season in third place in the South Region, missing the NCAA qualifier by one point. The rookie Hughes was the top freshman in the country at 1500 meters and earned All-America status.

Among the outstanding Florida State student-athletes that have come through Tallahassee, Braman coached perhaps the best female distance runner in FSU history. He guided five-time All-America and NCAA runner-up in the 10,000m (`04), Vicky Gill, through three years of track and field and cross country. The 2003 NCAA South Region Athlete of the Year was the first female two-time cross country All-America and one of five women's runners to earn the honors in both track and field and cross country in Florida State history. Gill owns the school records for the outdoor 10K and both 5,000m marks.

On the track, no team has been able to match the success the men's team has had over the last three seasons. Florida State has won three of the last four NCAA Outdoor National titles and finished in the top three of the indoor summit.

The Seminoles came within seconds of claiming a fourth title in 2009 as Florida State finished second. In addition, FSU has captured four of the last five NCAA Outdoor East Region crowns as well as 14 of the last 15 indoor and outdoor ACC championships.

Florida State finished two points shy of Texas A&M who claimed the title as a pair of Seminoles claimed national championships on the men's side before the 4x400m relay squad took the final title. The women finished fourth in the country during the outdoor season as a pair of Seminoles grabbed national titles.

During the last four years, Braman has been honored with 26 national, regional, district and conference Coach of the Year awards.

Despite going into the national championship as an underdog, the Seminoles had one of their most balanced squads in 2008 and they needed all facets to perform well to bring the trophy back to Tallahassee. Seven athletes brought home nine individual All-America honors as well as the 4x100m relay. Walter Dix won his eighth national championship by taking the 200m, while freshman Ngoni Makusha won the long jump. On the women's side, FSU had its best finish since 1991 with a 12th-place finish. Hannah England broke the NCAA meet record in winning the 1500m and was one of five All-Americans.

The men almost came away with their first Indoor NCAA title as they finished second. Freshman Gonzalo Barroilhet captured the heptathlon championship and senior Drew Brunson was victorious in the 60m hurdles. FSU also had five more All-America performances. The women showed that they may have the best distance duo in the country as England won the mile and Kuijken breezed to the 3000m championship. Freshman triple jumper Kim Williams took second to vault the women to sixth place for their best showing since 1986.

For the second year in a row Braman hoisted the NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field trophy in 2007. He also earned his second NCAA Division I Men's National Outdoor Track Coach of the Year. NCAA Division I Male Track Athlete of the Year Dix won the 100m and 200m and took part in the winning 4x100m relay team. Ricardo Chambers brought home the gold in the 400m run, while Lemoncello and Gunn earned All-America honors in the steeplechase. The women took 14th as Kuijken took second in the 1500m and Parker was third in the steeplechase.

During the indoor season the men just missed out in winning their first title with a second-place finish powered by Dix's 200m win. The women finished 30th, but did get an All-America award as Parker took fourth in the mile.

In 2006, Braman coached the men's track and field team to the school's first NCAA Outdoor Championship after a third place finish at indoors. Dix, in the 200m, and Garrett Johnson in the shot put, each won indoor and outdoor national championships while Rafeeq Curry added another national title in the outdoor triple jump. Dix and Lancashire added runner-up finishes in the 100m and 1500m, respectively.

The women's team capped off a successful season with a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Lacy Janson led the way as she won a national championship in the pole vault. During the season, the women's team finished fifth at the NCAA East Region Championships, second at the ACC Outdoors, 15th at the NCAA Indoor Championships and third at the ACC Indoor Championships.

On the track in 2005, the men's team finished fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Dix became the first Seminole since 1980 to win an outdoor national title as he won the 100m and seven other Seminoles earned All-America honors. The women's team sent three qualifiers to nationals, including Parker who competed in the steeplechase.

Braman took over the FSU track and field program when longtime head coach Terry Long retired at the end of the 2003 season. In the three seasons prior to Long's retirement, Braman served as an assistant with a focus on the distance runners.

Braman began his coaching career at South Florida in 1983 as the men's cross country assistant. He was promoted to head coach in 1985 and initiated the women's cross country program in 1987.

When USF began its track program in 1991, Braman assumed head coaching duties for that sport as well. Under Braman's guidance, the men's cross country team won three Conference USA titles (1997, 1998, 2000) while the women's team was the two-time defending conference champion (1998 & 1999). Braman coached both cross country teams to a top 30 NCAA finish in 1999. He also guided the Bulls to their first conference track title, at the Conference USA Women's Indoor Track Championships in 2000.

While at USF, Braman's men's cross country teams also won six-straight conference titles between 1988 and 1993, three in the Sun Belt Conference and three in the Metro Conference. Braman was honored as Coach of the Year 14 times. His men's cross country teams earned national rankings in 10 of his last 12 years, including a No. 5 national ranking in 1991, while the women's teams were ranked four of his last six years. Braman coached 41 national qualifiers on the track, including two-time NCAA champion Jon Dennis (5000m: 1992 and 1993).

Braman, 50, is married to the former Debbie Turner and has two sons, Steven (21) and Tyler (19). Tyler is a redshirt freshman on this year's team. He graduated from the University of Florida in 1980 with a bachelor's degree in broadcasting. Braman was the captain of the Gators' cross country team for three seasons and garnered All-SEC honors in cross country (1979 and 1980) and indoor track (1979). He was also UF's record holder in the indoor three-mile run.