Bob Thurnhoffer Named to Track & Field Coaching Staff
July 31, 2023 | Track & Field
Thurnhoffer joins the Cardinals after 18 seasons coaching at the Division I level.
Bob Thurnhoffer has been named to the University of Louisville track and field coaching staff as an assistant coach working with jumps, as announced by the program's director of track and field/cross country Joe Franklin.
"Bob's knowledge in the jumps is outstanding, having continually produced incredible jumpers on both the national and international levels," said Franklin. "We are thrilled to welcome him into the Cardinal family!"
Thurnhoffer joins the Cardinals after amassing 18 years of collegiate coaching experience at three different institutions at the Division I level. Over the course of his career, Thurnhoffer has coached his athletes to 17 NCAA All-American honors, 66 NCAA Championships qualifications, 119 individual conference championships, 156 all-conference honors, and 121 school record performances.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be at Louisville," said Thurnhoffer. "I've been to meets here and visited several times and it always struck me as a special place and an elite program where anything is possible."
Thurnhoffer comes to Louisville after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of New Mexico where he coached athletes in all speed/power events (sprints, jumps, hurdles, relays, throws). During his time at UNM, he coached 13 NCAA All-Americans, 25 Mountain West champions, 33 NCAA qualifiers, and helped set 19 new school records.
The 2022-23 season saw unprecedented success at the national level for the Lobo long jumpers as both Jake Burkey and Lokesh Sathyanathan, who have since transferred to Louisville, were recognized as NCAA All-Americans in the men's long jump. The duo also dominated the Mountain West conference with Burkey winning the indoor conference title and Sathyanathan capturing the outdoor crown. Both set Mountain West Championship records in the event in the process. Thurnhoffer also guided Sathyanathan to the 2023 Mountain West Outdoor Track & Field Male Performer of the Meet and Student Athlete of the Year awards following his success during the outdoor campaign.
After his first season in Albuquerque, Thurnhoffer was named the 2022 USTFCCCA Mountain Region Outdoor Men's Assistant Coach of the Year following an outdoor season that saw his athletes earn 16 All-MWC honors while earning nine gold medals at the conference championship meet. He also helped Rivaldo Leacock (men's 400m hurdles) to second team All-American recognition, while Jovahn Williamson (men's 400m) and the men's 4x400m relay were tabbed as honorable mention All-Americans.
Thurnhoffer's time at New Mexico also yielded sustained success at the national level with his athletes recording the Israeli indoor men's 200m national record, the Scottish indoor men's 300m national record, the second-best 400m hurdles performance in Barbados athletics history from Leacock, and the ninth-best long jump in India athletics history from Sathyanathan.
Prior to his time with the Lobos, Thurnhoffer spent five seasons (2016-21) as the head track & field and cross country coach at Loyola University Chicago, where he also served as an assistant coach working primarily with jumpers and sprinters from 2011-16 and a graduate assistant working with jumps from 2010-14.
At Loyola, Thurnhoffer helped the Ramblers tally 27 NCAA Championships qualifiers, eight Missouri Valley Conference team trophies, 65 individual conference titles, 19 individual conference specialty award winners, and 92 school record performances. On the international stage, he coached two athletes to European Championships qualifications while helping one athlete to a British U23 championship and aiding in a new Scottish junior national record.
He also helped the Ramblers find success off the track as the head coach of the program with 32 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team members, nine COSIDA Academic All-District Award winners, and two COSIDA Academic All-Americans during his time with the program. All fifteen of the teams Thurnhoffer helmed also earned USTFCCCA All-Academic distinction as a whole.
Thurnhoffer began his coaching career as an assistant jumps coach at the University of Illinois at Chicago for four years (2004-09). Under his guidance, the Flames' jumpers earned 29 individual Horizon League championships, six NCAA Championships qualifications, and 10 school record performances.
Outside of coaching, Thurnhoffer has also been featured in numerous speaking engagements and compiled five publications centered primarily around training strategies within sprints and jumps for coaches throughout track and field. He has also earned multiple certifications over the course of his career including completion of a USTFCCCA Master's Endorsement in Horizontal Jumps and the Frans Bosch Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation Course.
Thurnhoffer earned a bachelor's degree in exercise science from UIC in 2004 and is currently writing his thesis after completing coursework for a master of arts in philosophy from Loyola-Chicago.
"Bob's knowledge in the jumps is outstanding, having continually produced incredible jumpers on both the national and international levels," said Franklin. "We are thrilled to welcome him into the Cardinal family!"
Thurnhoffer joins the Cardinals after amassing 18 years of collegiate coaching experience at three different institutions at the Division I level. Over the course of his career, Thurnhoffer has coached his athletes to 17 NCAA All-American honors, 66 NCAA Championships qualifications, 119 individual conference championships, 156 all-conference honors, and 121 school record performances.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be at Louisville," said Thurnhoffer. "I've been to meets here and visited several times and it always struck me as a special place and an elite program where anything is possible."
Thurnhoffer comes to Louisville after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of New Mexico where he coached athletes in all speed/power events (sprints, jumps, hurdles, relays, throws). During his time at UNM, he coached 13 NCAA All-Americans, 25 Mountain West champions, 33 NCAA qualifiers, and helped set 19 new school records.
The 2022-23 season saw unprecedented success at the national level for the Lobo long jumpers as both Jake Burkey and Lokesh Sathyanathan, who have since transferred to Louisville, were recognized as NCAA All-Americans in the men's long jump. The duo also dominated the Mountain West conference with Burkey winning the indoor conference title and Sathyanathan capturing the outdoor crown. Both set Mountain West Championship records in the event in the process. Thurnhoffer also guided Sathyanathan to the 2023 Mountain West Outdoor Track & Field Male Performer of the Meet and Student Athlete of the Year awards following his success during the outdoor campaign.
After his first season in Albuquerque, Thurnhoffer was named the 2022 USTFCCCA Mountain Region Outdoor Men's Assistant Coach of the Year following an outdoor season that saw his athletes earn 16 All-MWC honors while earning nine gold medals at the conference championship meet. He also helped Rivaldo Leacock (men's 400m hurdles) to second team All-American recognition, while Jovahn Williamson (men's 400m) and the men's 4x400m relay were tabbed as honorable mention All-Americans.
Thurnhoffer's time at New Mexico also yielded sustained success at the national level with his athletes recording the Israeli indoor men's 200m national record, the Scottish indoor men's 300m national record, the second-best 400m hurdles performance in Barbados athletics history from Leacock, and the ninth-best long jump in India athletics history from Sathyanathan.
Prior to his time with the Lobos, Thurnhoffer spent five seasons (2016-21) as the head track & field and cross country coach at Loyola University Chicago, where he also served as an assistant coach working primarily with jumpers and sprinters from 2011-16 and a graduate assistant working with jumps from 2010-14.
At Loyola, Thurnhoffer helped the Ramblers tally 27 NCAA Championships qualifiers, eight Missouri Valley Conference team trophies, 65 individual conference titles, 19 individual conference specialty award winners, and 92 school record performances. On the international stage, he coached two athletes to European Championships qualifications while helping one athlete to a British U23 championship and aiding in a new Scottish junior national record.
He also helped the Ramblers find success off the track as the head coach of the program with 32 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team members, nine COSIDA Academic All-District Award winners, and two COSIDA Academic All-Americans during his time with the program. All fifteen of the teams Thurnhoffer helmed also earned USTFCCCA All-Academic distinction as a whole.
Thurnhoffer began his coaching career as an assistant jumps coach at the University of Illinois at Chicago for four years (2004-09). Under his guidance, the Flames' jumpers earned 29 individual Horizon League championships, six NCAA Championships qualifications, and 10 school record performances.
Outside of coaching, Thurnhoffer has also been featured in numerous speaking engagements and compiled five publications centered primarily around training strategies within sprints and jumps for coaches throughout track and field. He has also earned multiple certifications over the course of his career including completion of a USTFCCCA Master's Endorsement in Horizontal Jumps and the Frans Bosch Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation Course.
Thurnhoffer earned a bachelor's degree in exercise science from UIC in 2004 and is currently writing his thesis after completing coursework for a master of arts in philosophy from Loyola-Chicago.
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