Duke commenced a new era in its track and field program last month by essentially handing over the reigns of the men's and women's teams to Norm Ogilvie and Jan Samuelson Ogilvie, respectively.
Norm Ogilvie was promoted from men's assistant to the position of associate head coach of the men's team, while his wife, Jan Ogilvie, was named head coach of the women's team after spending the last two years as an assistant men's coach.
The transitions began May 1 with the decision of women's head coach Mike Forbes to not return for another year. Forbes cited a lack of time for his family life as his primary motivation for moving on.
"Track, unlike other sports, has three seasons (indoor, outdoor and cross country) and the time demands, especially on weekends, is extraordinary," athletic director Tom Butters said. "Hence, we all understand his decision."
Jan Ogilvie was hired six days later after an internal search for a new coach was conducted by the athletic department.
"This was a big surprise," she said. "I did not expect Mike Forbes to resign during my lifetime at Duke. I am just delighted that I will have the opportunity to work with women again, and Duke has a great group of women that are about to embark on their senior year."
Ogilvie came to Duke having already spent eight years as the women's head track coach at Boston University. While at the helm of the Terriers, she coached All-American performers in 11 different events. She left Boston in 1993 and has since worked as an assistant with the Blue Devils, coaching primarily the men's jumpers, sprinters and hurdlers.
Norm Ogilive's promotion was made possible by the elevation of veteran track and field coach Al Buehler to the position of director of track-a sort of all-encompassing post from which he will oversee the entire program.
"Al's promotion is a well-earned and overdue tribute to the Dean of coaches in the Atlantic Coast Conference," Butters said.
Buehler will retain his title as men's head coach-a position he has held since 1964-but the majority of the control in the program will now belong to Norm Ogilvie.
"The fact is that not much is changing for me," Ogilvie said. "Basically, I will start recruiting on the women's side now too, which is nice because that has always been kind of like my pride and joy."
Norm Ogilvie has been with the Blue Devils for the last six and a half years, working primarily with middle and long-distance runners. Prior to that, he was an assistant at Colorado for two years.
The two coaches intend to take full advantage of their unique situation as they plan to combine their efforts as much as possible.
"By combining the coaching staffs, the women as well as the men will be able to have some more individualized coaching," Jan Ogilvie said. "It should help us in coaching more for the event and not because whether they're men or women. I've really enjoyed working with the men's program over the last couple of years, and this will allow us opportunities and challenges for both groups."
By running their program in this 'joint' fashion, the Ogilvies will not be wandering into uncharted waters, but instead will be following a growing trend in collegiate track and field coaching.
"Our program will be more combined, which is more common," Norm Ogilvie said. "This is not anything unique-we're just catching up."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.