As Joey Woody ends his seventh season at the helm of the Iowa track and field program, the Iowa City native is keeping his program on the rise.

In the 2020-21 campaign, Iowa men’s track and field swept the 2021 Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor Championships for the first time since 1963. The Hawkeye men finished 12th at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships held in Eugene, Oregon on June 9-12 — its best finish in over 50 years.

“Coach Woody is a great coach,” Hawkeye junior hurdler Jamal Britt said. “You know, that was the main reason I came here. The group of guys that were here, and me coming in as one of the slowest — if not the slowest person — coming in from recruitment and getting to where I am today, it shows a lot. Woody is a great coach and producing a lot of people that are not necessarily a stud in high school or even in junior college, to be one of the best in the country.”

Britt competed in his first-ever NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships June 9-12 in the 110-meter hurdles and the 400-meter hurdles. In the 110-meter finals, he matched his personal best time of 13.45 seconds to finish fourth in the national championships.

Iowa sent a complete team to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 2020-21 season, with 17 athletes making the trip to Eugene, Oregon.

While track is primarily made up of individual events, senior thrower Laulauga Tausaga cherishes the team atmosphere that Woody creates.

“When you can say you have guys to back you up, or women to back you up, it’s an amazing thing,” Tausaga said. “You can cheer for them, because they’re fighting just as hard as you are and we’re fighting for each other to make this program a lot better than when we came in. It’s a very special kind of atmosphere that coach Woody has really brought to Iowa, and it’s one of the reasons why I chose Iowa.”

Under Woody’s tenure as director of track and field, the Hawkeyes gained their first NCAA Champion in 16 years in Tausaga. The now fifth-year senior won the NCAA women’s discus throw in 2019 with a throw of 63.26 meters, and will be heading to the Olympic Trials on June 19.

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“Coach Woody interacts with all of his athletes and coaches, he’s a very special guy,” Tausaga said. “… He’s been building this team, and the men have won three Big Ten titles and the women are getting there. Brick by brick, he’s laying the foundation for an amazing team, and I know that even when I’m gone it’s going to flourish under him. I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of this team and a part of the history that’s going to make Iowa track and field that much more amazing.”

Woody swept the Big Ten men’s coaching awards this season, claiming the 2021 Big Ten Indoor Men’s Coach of the Year and the Big Ten Outdoor Men’s Coach of the Year honor.

But Woody’s secret to becoming an award-winning coach is simple.

“Hire good staff, recruit good athletes, and coach them up,” Woody said. “It’s pretty simple, honestly. But we’ve got a tremendous staff. I tell my staff every time those things happen those are staff awards — I wish that they would make it be staff awards more than just the head coach award, but we definitely have one of the best staffs in the country.”