Andy Upton

Title

Assistant Director of Athletics for Facilities, Operations, and Intramurals; Associate Head Cross Country, Track and Field Coach
Email

aupton@bethanywv.edu
Phone

304-829-7247

Upton enters his 19^th season as the head coach of the Track and Field teams in the 2022-23 season
He serves as an Assistant Athletic Director for Internal Operations
He is the Director of Track and Field and Cross-Country

In 2021, Upton guided Riley Meyers to become Bethany’s first female to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Meyers qualified in the 400m hurdles
During the 2019-20 season, the Indoor Track & Field teams broke multiple school records including senior thrower Chas Blango who broke both the PAC Indoor Championship record and the Bethany College record. Riley Meyers ran a new school record of 9.28 seconds in the 60 meter hurdles. Shae Reinbeau finished fourth in the 5000 meter run with a new school record time of 19:21.30.
The 2017-18 Bethany Track & Field teams under Upton produced a pair of USTFCCA All-Region selections, including long jump All-American Baboucar Sallah-Mohammed
Sallah-Mohammed enjoyed a decorated 2017-18 season in which he earned three individual PAC titles, two ECAC individual titles, and Most Outstanding Field Athlete awards at both the PAC and ECAC Outdoor Championships. Sallah-Mohammed's season culminated at the NCAA Outdoor Championships where he became the first Bethany Track & Field All-American since 2015 when he claimed sixth place in the long jump
In 2016, Upton led the Bison men's track team to their second-consecutive PAC Indoor title, becoming the first team on Bethany's campus to capture back-to-back crowns since 2011-12
During the 2016 indoor championships, the Bison boasted the top three individual scorers in the meet, including seniors Umar Moore, Kyle Minger and junior Andre Butler. Additionally, Moore was named the Meet MVP and Co-Field MVP, while Butler was given the nod as the track MVP
The Bethany men won their first-ever indoor championship in 2014-15
Upton has produced top talent while at the helm of the Bison, including one three-time All-American, a two-time All-American, a one-time All-American and 15 national qualifiers. Under his tutelage, Moore became the school's first-ever three-time All-American, and qualified for nationals six different times
During the 2014-15 season, Moore earned three NCAA qualifications, capturing two All-American honors (eighth in indoor - long jump; seventh in outdoor - long jump)
Along with Moore's three-time All-America status, Upton coached Matt Cruse (2007-2010) to a pair of All-America honors. Cruse became the school's first two-time All-American, earning the honor at both the 2007 Indoor Championships (55m Hurdles - 4th) and the 2008 Outdoor Championships (110 Hurdles - 7th)
Adding to those impressive feats, Upton has also coached seven PAC MVP's, 50+ conference champions, over 150 all-conference performers, and over 100 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) qualifiers, including Baboucar Sallah-Mohammed, who was the 2017 ECAC outdoor champion in the long jump and the Most Outstanding Field Athlete at the 2018 championships

Upton has led the receiving corps to 13 All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference selections, while also breaking over 15 major receiving records, including two on a conference level
Helped shape wide out Eric Blinn into one of the most prolific pass catchers in PAC history; Blinn broke the all-time records in the conference in both receiving yards and receptions. He also was just one of four players in the country, at the time of his graduation, to eclipse 5,000 all-purpose yards
Blinn was a three-time 1,000-yard receiver, the only player in Bethany history to accomplish the feat. Blinn was also a three-time First-Team All-PAC selection, and earned First-Team All-ECAC honors on three separate occasions
Upton has helped the Bison passing game rank in the top half of the conference seven times, sitting second or higher in four different seasons
The top year came in 2013, when the Green & White ranked first in the PAC with 311.0 passing yards per game

Indoor Champions: 2015, 2016

PAC Coach of the Year Indoor Track and Field: (2016; 2015; 2014)

Spent five years at West Virginia Wesleyan, where he was an assistant football coach for five years and an assistant track and field coach for one season. In his time with the football team, he helped lead the Bobcats to the 2002 WVIAC Championship
Prior to his time at West Virginia Wesleyan, Upton worked for a season at his alma mater, West Virginia Institute of Technology, where he coached the wide receivers

Graduated from West Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management with an emphasis on marketing (’97)
Graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan with his Masters of Business Administration (’01)
Upton and his wife Rebecca and their sons Christopher and Matthew reside in Wheeling, W.Va.