Vin Lananna, Director of Track and Cross Country at the University of Virginia, joins us for our second last coach spotlight before the NCAA Championships. In addition to his role at UVA, Vin also serves as the President of USATF.

Before joining Virginia, Vin spent seven years at the helm of Oregon’s program and another eleven years leading Stanford’s program. Under his guidance, Vin led Stanford to seven team titles and Oregon to six team titles for a total of eleven team championship wins. He’s also produced numerous Olympians and individual NCAA champions. Over the course of his coaching career that began in 1975, Vin has solidified himself as one of the most influential figures in the sport.

In our interview, Vin shares how UVA is shaping up as we look towards Regionals and NCAAs, his approach to coaching, what excites him about college coaching compared to professional coaching, and what keeps him fully committed to the sport.

We’ll share the second half of our interview with Vin following the NCAA Championships. He offers his perspective and insights on the recent changes to college athletics, including NIL, roster caps, scholarship changes, and more. Stay tuned for part two!

This interview has been edited lightly for length and clarity.

Jasmine Fehr: To kick things off, let's start with conference weekend – Gary Martin won ACCs individually and led the men's team to a fourth-place team finish. The women's team also finished fourth. Can you share a little about how the weekend went?

Vin Lananna: It was a positive weekend. We were able to accomplish what we needed to for ACCs. We always try to win the conference meet and put ourselves in the best position to do so, but this conference is unbelievably talented and deep. So finishing fourth was good on the women's side. It was great to get Margot Appleton back in the lineup and Gary Martin did a fabulous job of beating some very good people. That was not an easy task for him.

No kidding! Heading into the postseason, what sets Virginia apart from other top cross country programs?

Everything is all about the athletes. We’ve got great athletes and we're very fortunate to have outstanding staff in assistant coaches Trevor Dunbar and Joelle Amaral. They do a great job of getting our student-athletes prepared.

We have great kids who enjoy winning together but can also navigate things that don't go exactly the way they want them to. They rebound together, too. I think that’s the beauty of what defines Virginia.

It always starts with the athletes! Having a great staff makes such a difference too. Can you describe your coaching philosophy and how it’s evolved throughout your career?

It's a long story. I'll give you the short version. For me, it's always been about being technically sound and on the cutting edge. I try to know what everybody else is doing around the world and then evaluate to see whether it applies to what we are doing.

My philosophy has always been that degrees matter. Your academic experience is important. We try to be psychologically and mentally prepared to compete and at the same time be able to find balance and enjoy the process. That's the basics for me.

How it's evolved…. I think it depends on where you are and the kind of student-athletes with whom you work. It's about getting really great kids in the recruiting process that understand what they're stepping into and making sure that we can deliver on what we promise.

I'm sure recruiting must look different from Virginia to Stanford to Oregon. You have to adjust based on where you are.

We're not a professional track club. We’re a collegiate program and I believe in the collegiate system. The experience that student-athletes get is not comparable to any other experience they have. They have a chance to be part of a team. They have a chance to work hard together, learn how to win together, and accept when they don't have a great performance. That's all part of what you do when working with 18 to 23-year-old women and men.

It's a lot different from the professional scene! The team element of coaching is clearly important to you. What do you do to build a positive culture among your team?

The basis and foundation for every program is the type of student-athletes that you recruit. Virginia is a place that values education. The student-athletes choose here because they want to get a degree, a circle of lifelong friends, and they want to be a part of the culture and the community that is present here.

At Virginia, it's all about working hard together. There's a difference between working hard and working hard together. I’ve tried to create an environment where every young man and woman has a role to play.

That has never been more evident than when our men won ACCs outdoors last year. It was a team where shot putters and discus throwers were cheering for sprinters, the sprinters were cheering for the distance runners, and everybody was cheering for the 4x400m, which it came down to at the end. That's what is powerful about our sport. I try to be very dedicated to caring about the entire sport and not just one area.

It's something I believe is important for our sport. When you ask about USATF and coaching, those two things are compatible because that's what the federation does: pay attention to help improve the entire sport. It fits in perfectly with my philosophical positioning as a long-time coach of the sport.

Speaking of which, how do you balance your roles between being the Director of Track and Cross Country at Virginia and the President of USATF?

A lot of people have hobbies like playing golf, gardening or whatever one does. I don't do those things. My hobby is track field: on the collegiate level, on the professional level, and on the administrative level. Hosting big events, big meets, and making them the best they can be.

I love building programs. It’s something that excites me: hiring a staff and getting everybody working together. That's a massive project at USATF because there are so many people whose passion is our sport, and typically those passionate people are passionate about one aspect of the sport. What I try to do is provide an overview of what is important for the entire sport.

Love that! Everyone has hobbies on the side of things they love to do – and for you, it’s track and field across the board.

Yes, I'm pretty boring.

Far from boring. Just very focused!