Dave Barney was hired as the first cross country coach at PVCC when the program was started in 1995. He was also the first track & field coach at PVCC when that program began in 1999. He has helped develop the Pumas' programs into some of the most successful programs in the country.
Since 1996, the Puma men's and women's cross country teams have combined to win an impressive nine NJCAA national championships (five women/four men), been runners-up seven times (1999, 2000, 2001 (men and women), 2003, 2009, 2024), were 3rd four times (2002, 2005, 2012, 2023), and 4th seven times (2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2018, 2023, 2024). Five PVCC runners have captured individual national championships (1997, 2000, 2001, 2023, 2024), and 67 have earned NJCAA All-American honors. The Puma Cross Country teams have claimed a combined 22 NJCAA Region I Championships.
Barney grew up in Arizona and has strong ties to its running community. He was a state cross country and track & field champion, as well as junior college national champion. Following his days as an NCAA All-American athlete at the University of Arkansas, he returned to Arizona. He competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials four times and twice represented the USA in the world championships as a member of the U.S. National Team.
Barney has been named NJCAA Cross Country National Coach of the Year eight times. In 2012, Barney was honored as an inductee into the Arizona Runners Hall of Fame (along with Olympians Jesse Owens, Herman Frazier and Lynn Nelson). Barney was also inducted into the ACCAC Hall of Fame in 2018.
All NJCAA Coaches Legacy Award honorees will be recognized at a special luncheon on Tuesday, June 17, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Congratulations Dave!
To read the NJCAA press release, and see a full list of honorees click HERE
