Eric Thatcher - Men's Cross Country Coach - Bowling Green State University Athletics

Eric Thatcher

Title:
Assistant Cross Country/Track and Field Coach
Email:
ethatch@bgsu.edu
Phone:
419-372-4013

Eric Thatcher begins his third season at Bowling Green State University in 2014-15, working primarily with the men’s cross country program. He began just prior to the start of the 2013 track and field season, assisting the existing coaching staff during the year.

During his first men’s cross country season in 2013, Thatcher guided Jason Salyer to a sixth place finish at the MAC Championships to become the first BGSU men’s cross country runner named first team All-MAC since 1995. Salyer added a 51st place finish out of 207 runners at the NCAA Regional Championships and was third of 289 runners at the All-Ohio Championships.

A Lakeview, Ohio native, Thatcher came to Bowling Green after spending the last seven years with the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), where he competed as an athlete and coach.

Most recently, Thatcher was an assistant coach at Heidelberg University, working with the cross country and track and field programs from 2010-12. While at Heidelberg, Thatcher’s duties included training the mid-distance groups, serving as recruiting coordinator, and conducting operational duties for team travel and fundraising.

Coaching highlights include assisting All-American performances in the pentathlon, heptathlon, 400m hurdles, and 4x400m relay, guiding Heidelberg to an 18th place finish at indoor nationals in 2012.

Prior to his stint at Heidelberg, Thatcher participated in cross country and track & field at Ohio Northern University for four years, where he was a three time all-conference honoree. Thatcher was also part of five OAC championship teams, and was a NCAA DIII National Cross Country Championship Qualifier as the team placed 11th.

Thatcher assisted an Ohio Northern program that had both men’s and women’s individual cross country conference champions in 2009. The program also won a team championship in women’s cross country and men’s and women’s indoor track and field in his one season as a student-assistant coach.

While attending Ohio Northern, Thatcher was a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Habitat for Humanity, while also being named to the dean’s list four times.

Thatcher, who is USATF Level I Coaching Certified, graduated from Ohio Northern University in May of 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in business administration and a Bachelor of Arts in sport management. He recently completed his master’s degree from Heidelberg University in education. Thatcher currently resides in Perrysburg, Ohio with his wife, Erica and their two children, Braden and Lillian.