Curtis Lee Pittman has been named the new head men’s and women’s track and field and cross country coach.  Pittman takes over Michael Merritt, who has been appointed head coach emeritus.

Pittman comes to Howard with an impressive resume, having served as head track and field and cross country coach at Arkansas Pine Bluff the past seven seasons.

During his tenure there, Pittman guided the Lady Lions to their first ever championship in 2007.  For his efforts, he was named the 2007 Southwestern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in Cross Country.

Prior to his stint at UAPB, Pittman served as head coach at Bethune-Cookman University from 1994 to 2003.  While there, Pittman guided the Wildcats to five MEAC championships.

Pittman has also served stints as head coach at Kentucky State and as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Kent State.

The highly respected Pittman was rewarded for his accomplishments in 2001 when he was selected to serve as the national coach for Uganda.

He has produced numerous NCAA qualifiers during his extensive coaching career.

As an athlete, Pittman was a multi-purpose athlete at Kent State, excelling in the 110 hurdles, the long jump, the triple jump and the javelin.

Pittman received his bachelor of science degree in health, physical education and recreation from Kent State in 1978 and his masters of arts degree in mass communications from Southern University (Baton Rouge) in 1985.