A 26-year veteran coach of the sport, Eugene Frazier takes over the Portland State cross country and track & field programs ahead of the 2026-27 school year. A specialist in speed and power, Frazier has guided athletes to Olympic and World Championship appearances, three NCAA national qualifiers, 11 NCAA East First Round qualifiers, three NCAA West First Round qualifiers, and 26 conference individual champions.
Frazier’s list of conference champions includes a Big Sky Indoor men’s 4x400-meter title with Weber State in 2024. His athletes scored 43 of the Wildcats’ 91 points at the 2024 Big Sky Outdoor Championships for the program’s best finish in seven years. He went on to coach at Northern Colorado the past two years where he guided two athletes to NCAA West First Round qualifications.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Eugene Frazier as the next head coach of our Portland State cross country and track & field programs,” Portland State athletic director Matt Billings said. “We trust that he can provide the veteran voice and leadership needed to grow those programs over the coming years.”
Frazier has been part of program turnarounds previously. Together with his mentor Wayne Angel, Frazier turned a Tennessee Tech program that a was a perennial bottom feeder into one that swept the 2018 women’s indoor and outdoor Ohio Valley Conference titles. Tennessee Tech didn’t score a point at the conference indoor championships during Frazier’s first year there, and yet they were conference champions four years later.
Frazier’s work at Tennessee Tech included coaching 18 Ohio Valley Conference individual champions. Additionally, he coached Na’Asha Robinson to two NCAA All-American honors in the 400 meters.
“Words can’t express how grateful I am to Matt Billings and the entire Portland State family for giving me this opportunity to lead their cross country and track & field programs into their next chapter,” Frazier said of his hire. “When I was here for the Big Sky track championships this past May, I could see and feel that there was a lot of opportunity here. Portland State, to me, is a diamond in the rough. So, getting the opportunity to polish that diamond is what excites me the most.”
“I can’t wait to bring a level of excitement and enthusiasm back to the program. My short-term goals are to establish a cultural that is built off of championship habits and expectations. A culture where the kids can enjoy their college experience and be proud to be a Portland State Viking. My long-term goals are to build a program of consistency and that is super competitive and can compete for Big Sky Championships.”
Frazier reunited with Robinson as he coached professional athletes between 2019-23. During that time, he helped guide Robinson to a silver medal at the World Indoor Championships as part of Team USA’s 4x400-meter relay. Robinson also won a gold medal in the World Relay Championships.
Frazier cut his teeth as a collegiate coach at the junior college level, first at Kansas Community College (1998-2006), then at Butler Community College (2006-11). At Butler, he was named the 2008 NJCAA Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year when he coached 18 women and 20 men to NJCAA All-American honors. He also coached an athlete to a national title in the NJCAA Outdoor Pentathlon that season, as well as two more national runners up on the women’s side, and one more on the men’s side.
He totaled five junior college national champions, 20 junior college conference champions and 30 junior college All-Americans in his time at both schools.
Frazier competed collegiately at Alabama State where he graduated in 1998. He swept the indoor 60- and outdoor 100-meter Southwestern Athletic Conference titles in 1996, when he was also part of his team’s title-winning 4x100-meter relay. He finished as SWAC runner up in the 100 and 200 meters the year before in 1995. After college, he qualified for the USATF Indoor Championships in the 60 meters in 2000 and 2003.
COACHING PROFILE
2024-26, Assistant Coach, Northern Colorado
2023-24, Assistant Coach, Weber State
2019-23, Personal Coach for Professional, High School and Younger Athletes
2014-18, Assistant Coach, Tennessee Tech
2012-13, Assistant Coach, Florida A&M
2006-11, Assistant Coach, Butler Community College
1998-2006, Assistant Coach, Kansas Community College
EDUCATION
Alabama State, 1998
USATF Level 1 Certified
NCAA Recruitment Certified
