Jeff Perkins enters his eighth year as the director/head coach of the UC Irvine cross country team.
Perkins took over the cross country/track & field program on Jan. 1, 2014, after serving as associate head coach the previous four years.
Since his arrival on campus, the Anteater women’s cross country team has produced five all-conference awards, one Big West Freshman of the Year and 11 Big West Athletes of the Week. In 2019, Hannah Chau took fifth at the conference meet and ran the fourth-fastest 6K in program history (20:44.5), while he also led the 2018 women's squad to their best finish at the Big West Championships since 2008.
On the track, Perkins works primarily with the jumps, sprints and hurdles. He is a USATF Level 1 and Level 2 certified coach.
In his eight years as head coach of the men’s and women’s track & field teams, the Anteaters have claimed five All-America honors and won 22 Big West individual titles, while producing 49 NCAA West Preliminary qualifying marks.
Since Perkins joined the UCI staff in 2007, the ‘Eaters have also boasted one NCAA champion, eight All-Americans, 13 national qualifiers and 41 conference champions.
Perkins has also helped his student-athletes reach new heights on the international level as he saw two of his pupils qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Charles Jock, a UCI alum, competed for Team USA in the 800 meters, while Persis William-Mensah, who had just completed her sophomore year at the time, was part of Ghana’s 4x100 relay.
Jock is one of the most decorated runners in UC Irvine history as he won the 800m at the 2012 NCAA Track & Field Championships, making him the program's first individual national champion in 34 years. In 2010, Jock also broke the legendary Steve Scott's school record in the 800m that had stood for 32 years. In addition, the three-time All-American and Big West Track Athlete of the Year was the runner-up at the 2011 NCAA Championships and competed for the USA National Team at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
William-Mensah also cemented her place as one of UC Irvine's all-time greats in the sprints. She graduated as the school record holder in the outdoor 100m, 200m and 4x100 relay, as well as the indoor 60m and 200m. She was a three-time NCAA West Preliminary qualifier in the 100m and five-time All-Big West performer. As a senior in 2018, William-Mensah claimed UCI's first individual conference title in the women's 100m in 22 years.
Another Perkins protégé, Lloyd Sicard, was tabbed the 2016 Big West Track Athlete of the Year after winning his second 110-meter hurdle title. As a sophomore in 2015, he broke the school record held by Stan Longino that had stood for 33 years, one of the oldest marks in the Anteater record book. Sicard was also named UCI’s first Big West Freshman Athlete of the Year in 2014.
Outside of UC Irvine, Perkins coached both Danny McFarlane and Josef Robertson from Jamaica in the 400-meter hurdles. McFarlane won the 400H at the 2008 Jamaica Olympic Trials to advance to the Beijing Olympics. He was a silver medalist at the 2004 Olympic Games, placed fifth at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, and came in sixth at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany. Robertson was a 2009 World Championship qualifier and semi-finalist in the 2011 World Championships.
Perkins joined the Anteaters' staff from the University of Oklahoma (2005-06), where he served two years as an assistant for the men's program, coaching the sprints, hurdles and relays. In his first season with the Sooners, he led Ronnie Pines to the third-fastest 60m time in the nation at 6.60 seconds. Perkins also had three 110m hurdlers compete in the Big 12 Conference final, placing second, third and eighth. Perkins' student-athletes scored a combined 34 points at the Big 12 Championship, helping the Sooners finish fifth after a 10th-place showing the previous year.
In 2006-07 at Oklahoma, Marcus Pugh won the 60m in 6.67 seconds at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. The Sooners went on to win the Big 12 outdoor title as well as the Midwest Regional Championship. Oklahoma's 4x100 relay also finished fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships after winning conference and regional titles.
While at Oklahoma, Perkins coached 12 NCAA Regional qualifiers and six NCAA qualifiers.
Perkins served from 2002-05 at fellow Big West member Cal State Northridge, where he coached the men's and women's sprints, hurdles and relays. In his first season at CSUN, he guided four individuals,as well as the men's 4x100 and 4x400 relays, to conference titles. He had five individuals and three relays qualify for the NCAA West Regional, and four NCAA outdoor qualifiers in the 400H and 100m.
In 2003-04, the Matadors won the men's and women's Big West titles with four of Perkins' student-athletes taking home individual conference championships. He coached eight individual and three relay NCAA Regional qualifiers, with two of his athletes advancing to the NCAA Championships. In 2004-05, the Northridge men won their second-straight conference title, while Perkins also mentored the Big West Freshman Female Track Athlete of the Year.
In his three seasons with the Matador staff, Perkins coached a total of 12 conference champions, 19 NCAA-regional qualifiers and six NCAA qualifiers.
Perkins began his career at the University of Tennessee, where he was a manager and volunteer coach under the tutelage of Vince Anderson. Perkins helped coach then-NCAA 100m/200m champion, future Olympian and world-record holder Justin Gatlin, and future 60-meter indoor world champion Leonard Scott on their way to the 2001 SEC Championship and NCAA Outdoor Championship. Tennessee won the 2002 SEC title and the NCAA Indoor Championship during Perkins' tenure.
| Jeff Perkins' Head Coaching Ledger - Women's Cross Country |
| Year |
School |
Big West Finish |
NCAA West Regional Finish |
| 2020* |
UC Irvine |
n/a |
n/a |
| 2019 |
UC Irvine |
5th (140) |
27th (805) |
| 2018 |
UC Irvine |
5th (147) |
25th (731) |
| 2017 |
UC Irvine |
8th (221) |
32nd (925) |
| 2016 |
UC Irvine |
7th (197) |
30th (831) |
| 2015 |
UC Irvine |
9th (225) |
35th (1041) |
| 2014 |
UC Irvine |
8th (194) |
32nd (894) |
* Season canceled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
