The Ohio Dominican University athletic department has named a new head coach for the cross country and track and field programs on Wednesday (Sept. 25). Ohio Dominican Athletic Director Jeff Blair announced Lee LaBadie has been selected as the new leader for the program.
"We are excited to welcome Coach LaBadie to the Ohio Dominican community," added Blair. "Lee LaBadie has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the sport of cross country and track & field and we are looking forward to him joining our staff and continue to develop our program at Ohio Dominican University."
LaBadie spent 12 seasons as the head coach of the cross country program as well as assistant track & field distance coach at NCAA Division I Akron.
"I am excited to join the Ohio Dominican University athletic department and have fun with the Panthers," said LaBadie. Â "It is always good to be a part of a program that we will look to make strides in the future. It's exciting to be here in Columbus and I want to thank Jeff Blair and the hiring committee for the opportunity to lead the Panthers."
He had a number of successes at Akron over his time as a Zip. Individually, 11 Zips earned a total of 21 All-Mid-American Conference awards, with seven honorees getting First-Team accolades.
In cross country, the Zips notched four top three finishes as a team in the MAC. LaBadie coached Akron's first NCAA Championship qualifier in 2019 after his student-athlete won the 2019 MAC Championship.
As an assistant at Akron, LaBadie had a hand in developing student-athletes to 16 Indoor MAC titles and nine Outdoor MAC titles in various events such as the 3K, 5K, DMR, 800, 1500 and Mile. On top of individual titles, LaBadie was a part of 15 combined MAC Championships and eight appearances at the national level.
LaBadie had worked with numerous high-level athletes during his career, including Clayton Murphy during and following his time in Akron. Murphy was a bronze medalist in the 800 meters for 2016 Summer Olympics as well as an eighth place finish in the same event for the 2020 Summer Olympics. He qualified for the World Championships in 2015 and 2019 with two eighth place finishes in the 800 meters.
He spent two stints as an assistant track and field coach in Columbus at the Ohio State University, spanning eight years. Robert Gary was a two-time Olympian in the steeplechase. Mark Croghan was a two-time NCAA champion in the steeplechase, a three-time Olympian in the event and five-time national champion. LaBadie coached three individual Big Ten champions and helped the Buckeyes to an outdoor Big Ten team title in 1992.
Prior to his time in Columbus, he was the head women's coach at Bowling Green State University for both track and field and cross country for four years. In addition to his two All-Americans (Discus and 800 meters), LaBadie coached 12 individual MAC champions.
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He began his coaching career at Parkland College, leading his teams to five appearances in the National Junior College Athletic Association national championships. They notched three top ten finishes. Individually, LaBadie coached over 120 All-Americans and six national champions.
