Alcorn Tabs Tate as New Leader of Cross Country, Track & Field Programs

LORMAN, Mississippi -- A former SWAC head coach and student-athlete, Fermon Tate was named the head coach of the Alcorn State University men's and women's cross country and track & field programs, announced Monday by director of athletics Derek Horne.

Tate comes to Alcorn after spending the last three seasons as the head coach at Mississippi Valley State. During the 2017 season, MVSU claimed the Southwestern Athletic Conference Women's Cross Country Championship, finishing with 58 points and a place in MVSU history. It marked the first-ever championship for the MVSU women's cross country program.

Additionally, Tate was named the SWAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year. He coached Scholasticah Kemei to the title and SWAC Women's Runner of the Year honors, winning the women's individual championship with a time of 18:30.83.

MVSU's championship came one year after the Delta Devilettes took second at the 2016 SWAC Cross Country Championships.

"I would like to thank Derek Horne, Jamea Adams-Ginyard and the entire search committee for the opportunity to coach at Alcorn State University. In the past years, I've been fortunate to have worked with incredible people, and now I look forward to building something special here at Alcorn with such a fine group of talented student-athletes and staff," Tate said.

Prior to MVSU, Tate served as the assistant sprints and hurdles coach at Tiffin University in Ohio. Leaving a positive mark on the program, Tate guided the team to a fifth place finish at the 2014 NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships, and the school's first ever national champion, Lamar Hargrove. Hargrove won two events and received the Athlete of the Meet and Freshman of the Year Award. In that season, there was a school record of eight All-Americans and the 4x4 meter relay team was the national runner up.

During the 2013 season, Tate helped his athletes to some impressive performances. There were a total of 12 school records set, three GLIAC titles and 19 GLIAC runner-up performances for a total of 38 All-GLIAC selections. The Dragons had 11 NCAA qualifiers with Candace Longino-Thomas earning All-America honors in the indoor 400-meter dash. His educational background of the sprint events over the years, led to successful accomplishments as a collegiate track and cross country coach at Arkansas -Pine Bluff, where he served prior to Tiffin.

While coaching throughout Michigan, Tate's track and field team's won seven state championships. As the national director and head coach of the Swift Track Club, he mentored a number of student athletes who have achieved All-American status at the USATF and AAU national levels. His athletes have broken numerous Indoor/Outdoor school records and he has helped foster 50 state champions in various events. Tate is proud to have passed forward his charisma and passion for track running to the athletes he worked with over the years, for which many have gone on to become NAIA, All-MAC, All-Big Ten, and NCAA All Americans. Recently, one of Tate's former runners, Kendall Baisden, won the junior world youths title in the 400-meter dash, and she graciously thanked Tate for his services through the years.

Tate competed in track at MVSU, helping his team win the 1981 and 1982 NAIA National Championships. He transferred to Eastern Michigan, helping them win two Mid-American Conference championships. Success also runs in the family. His son Fermon Tate III received a scholarship to Central Michigan under his father's coaching and graduated. His daughter, Sierra, received a scholarship to University of Michigan and graduated with honors. His youngest daughter, Derra, is considered one of the top distance recruits in the state excelling in cross country and track.

"Coach Tate has been a winner everywhere he's been. He's coached both national and conference champions at several different clubs and institutions including MVSU. On top of that, Coach Tate was a part of national championship teams as a former SWAC student-athlete. He elevated MVSU as a head coach, and we're excited to have him move both our cross country and track & field programs forward here at Alcorn," Horne said.

Tate is a native of Detroit, Michigan and graduated with Bachelor's degree in education from Eastern Michigan University. He is married to Dana Tate.

ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS