11/9/2026 11:23:00 AM | Cross Country
SPOKANE, Wash- Gonzaga Cross Country head coach Pat Tyson added another accolade to his storied career on Monday with his selection as the 2026 Pac-12 Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year.
This is the fourth time that Tyson has won conference Coach of the Year honors while at Gonzaga, and his first Pac-12 award in GU's inaugural season in the conferece. Tyson was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year after leading the Zags to a conference championship victory on October 30th. Gonzaga had five runners named to the Men's All Pac-12 teams, in addition to Dylan Rowell winning the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year award and Josh Augustine being named the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.Â
"It is so gratifying to get this honor from my peers, I thank them deeply! Our Zag athletes make it all happen and I just make sure they get there. I'm so grateful for this team and their belief in the running philosophy that I learned from my own college coach Bill Dellinger!" said Coach Pat Tyson.
The Coach of the Year award is a fitting cap to a 19th and final season at Gonzaga for coach Tyson, who is retiring at the end of the 2026-2027 school year after building Gonzaga into a premier distance running program. Under Tyson's tutelage the Zags have had historic highs in Cross Country, including eight straight seasons with a Top-10 West Region finish and historic Top-15 finishes at NCAA Championships.
The Zags will return to the cross country course on Friday morning as Pat Tyson leads them to take on the NCAA West Regional Championship in Sacramento, California.
