Robert Foster was named Head Coach of the Fresno Pacific Men’s & Women’s Track & Field programs in July 2024. Foster brings a wealth of international experience and a legacy of athletic and recruitment excellence to FPU. He had been an assistant coach for the Sunbirds since 2015.
Foster was named PacWest Conference Men’s Coach of the Year and USTFCCA West Region Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year in 2024.
The Jamaica native attended Copiague High School in New York, where he excelled in track & field. He began his collegiate career at Porterville College, becoming a two-time California State Junior College champion, before transferring to Fresno State University. At Fresno State, Foster achieved remarkable success, being crowned NCAA Division I National Champion in the 55m hurdles (indoor) and 110m hurdles (outdoor) in 1994. He remains the Fresno State and Western Athletic Conference (WAC) record holder in both events.
Foster represented Jamaica in the 110m hurdles at both the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. He also competed in the 1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 1995 World Championships in Athletics, participating in both the hurdles and the 4x100m relay.
Foster began his coaching career at Annapolis High School in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, before returning to Fresno State as an assistant. He joined FPU as an assistant coach in 2015 and was instrumental in developing the university's sprint program. Under his guidance, the men’s and women’s teams have routinely shattered school records and won conference crowns in events such as the 100m, 200, 400m, 100/110m hurdles, 400m hurdles, 4x100m and 4x400m relays, to go along with dozens of PacWest titles, All-American honors, and All-Conference nods.
In his first season as head coach, FPU Track & Field reached new heights as a program. The men’s team won their first PacWest Conference Champtionship since 2014, dethroning 8-time reigning champs Azusa Pacific in dominating fashion. The women’s team would go on to a 4
th place national finish – FPU Track & Field’s best-ever NCAA finish along with a pair of individual national championships. Senior Brianna Green was crowned women’s 400m Hurdles champ, and the team of Riley Allen/Nydia Chance/Sariyah Copeland/Shaniya Randolph/Green took home the women’s 4x100m relay title – setting a new NCAA Division II record time in the process. Sprinter Shemar Palmer and Hurdler Brianna Green were both named PacWest Championships Track Athlete of the Meet, PacWest Track Athlete of the Year, and USTFCCCA West Region Track Athletes of the Year, in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively. The success of his student-athletes would earn him Coach of the Year honors by both the PacWest and USTFCCCA West Region.
Foster's coaching philosophy emphasizes goal-setting and dedication. He is known for his "tough love" approach, pushing athletes to reach their full potential. His commitment to excellence has earned him respect and admiration from his athletes and peers alike.
Dedication to track and field extends to his family as well. His daughter, Rhesa, is an accomplished long jumper who won a bronze medal at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics, gold at the 2023 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, and is two-time Pac-12 champion for the University of Oregon. Foster’s son, Caleb, was an All-SEC jumper and hurdler at the University of Florida.
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