Jarius Cooper arrived at Stanford in the fall of 2019 to coach the sprinters, hurdlers, and relays, after successful tenures at Arkansas State and Connecticut.
Cooper, an All-Southeastern Conference hurdler at Florida, coached under current Stanford Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field J.J. Clark at Connecticut in 2019 after six seasons as an assistant at Arkansas State.
Cooper developed Sharika Nelvis of Arkansas State into not only the nation’s top collegiate hurdler, but into the nation’s top women’s track and field athlete, winning the 2014 Honda Award for her sport. Nelvis was the NCAA champion in the 100 hurdles outdoors (12.52w) and the 60 hurdles indoors (7.93) and, a year later, made the U.S. team for the IAAF World Championships and won a U.S. indoor title in the 60 hurdles. Nelvis won seven Sun Belt championships and was among three finalists for The Bowerman, college track’s most prestigious honor.
Another top performer coached by Cooper was Jaylen Bacon, also at Arkansas State. While a collegian, Bacon was fourth in the 100 at the U.S. outdoor championships, earning a spot on the U.S. national team’s 4x100 relay for the World Championships in London, winning a silver medal.
Bacon’s fifth-place finish in the 100 at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships was A-State’s highest men’s finish in a track event at that meet since 1978. Cooper placed third in the 60 at the at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships and fifth a year later. He earned five All-America honors and was the USTFCCCA South Central Athlete of the Year.
Bacon completed his collegiate career with top marks of 6.56 in the 60, 9.97 in the 100, and 20.25 in the 200 and holds A-State records in the 60 and 100. He was the first in program history to earn first-team All-America honors in the 100 and 200 at the same NCAA Championships meet.
When Cooper left Arkansas State, his athletes held 15 school records – six outdoors and nine indoors. As the Red Wolves’ recruiting coordinator, Cooper took pride in winning the 2018 Sun Belt Conference men’s outdoor team championship. Arkansas State won five Sun Belt indoor and outdoor team titles during Cooper’s years there.
In his year at UConn, Cooper’s athletes broke two school records and won four conference titles (two indoor). Two women and a relay advanced to the NCAA East Prelims, including Kat Surin, who placed 14th at the NCAA Championships to earn second-team All-America honors.
Prior to A-State, Cooper was an assistant in the same events at his alma mater, Flagler Palm Coast High School in Palm Coast, Fla.
Cooper graduated from University of Florida in 2011 with a degree in criminology. For the Gators, Cooper was fourth in the 110 hurdles at the 2010 Southeastern Conference Championships third in the 60 hurdles at the 2011 SEC Indoor finals. He was named to the SEC All-Academic team all four years.
Cooper is a native of Palm Coast, Florida, and was the 2007 4A state champion in the 110 hurdles (13.97), while the helping the Bulldogs to the state team championship. He was the state’s top-ranked high school hurdler.
Cooper completed his masters in sport administration from Arkansas State in 2014. He is a USA Track and Field Level 1 certified instructor.