Scott Fangman had been the track and field coach for University of Indianapolis for 27 years before he retired from the position this past fall, according to UIndy Athletics. The UIndy Track and Field team will now begin its first season without Fangman at the helm, according to UIndy Athletics. The 2023-24 indoor track and field season will begin Dec. 3 at home in the Athletic & Recreational Center, according to UIndy Athletics.
Fangman’s retirement went into effect Sept. 30, but the program is succeeded by UIndy Alumni Brad Robinson, who is now serving as interim head coach, according to UIndy Athletics. Robinson has been head coach for the cross country team since 2016, according to UIndy Athletics.
After Fangman stepped down, Robinson was named the head of both the cross country and track and field teams, according to the UIndy Athletics. The biggest difference for the season is the coaching change, according to Robinson. Robinson said that he is a quieter presence than Fangman, but plans on applying his managerial methods to help plan the season.
“I may not be as loud all the time having round meetings but I’m gonna do things that challenge the team to get out of their comfort zone in any way that we haven’t done things yet, so it will look different for sure,” Fangman said.
When speaking with Brad Robinson about taking over as head coach, Fangman said he was excited for what is to come during the upcoming season. He said although the team got a later start than normal this year given the changes, he is still hopeful to do well. The team, which usually starts training beginning in September, but did not start training till the beginning of October this school year. He said the goal for this team is to win the conference and have people place nationally like they did last year.
“We’ve got some returners that went to nationals last year,” said Robinson. “We hope to have at least all those athletes qualify again and then hopefully adding to new athletes that did not come, did not qualify for nationals last year.”
One of the individual athletes who did qualify for nationals last year was Sabrina Robison. A senior on the team, Robison competes in pole-vaulting and occasionally the triple jump, she said. Robinson said the biggest difference for the team is going to be the coaching change, but she is still excited for what is to come in the season.
“I’m most excited for the traveling because it does seem we are traveling more this year than we did in the past,” Robison said. “I’d say traveling to all those different places will be my most exciting thing.”
Josiah Adams is a junior on the team and said that the team does have a lot of young athletes. Despite this, Adams says this also means a lot of depth for the team, which makes him hopeful for what is to come in the season.
“We have a lot of young athletes in each area and I think with our leaders that’s in place like myself and Sabrina,” Adams said, “We can just, each event group can build each other up to hopefully win conference. I think both teams have a great opportunity to win conference because we just have a lot of depth unlike years in the past.”
Adams said that Fangman left an imprint on their program especially in how they carry themselves. Something Fangman emphasized was the importance of leadership from the upperclassmen, and the team is prepared to continue the path of success that he had started the program on.
