Emporia State track and field coach Steve Blocker has stepped down as head coach of the track and field program announced by the school Friday.
Blocker is stepping away from coaching to take a faculty/teaching position in health and human performance at Emporia State. He said it was a tough decision.
Blocker has been the head track and field coach for the past 12 years and has been a coach in the program since 2009.
Blocker just completed his 12th season as head coach of the men’s and women’s track and field programs at Emporia State. He has coached 68 All-Americans and 42 MIAA Champions. As an assistant at Emporia State, he coached 14 All-Americans, six MIAA Champions, and an NCAA Division II National Champion.
Blocker coached sprinters, jumpers, and multi-event athletes when he was an assistant before transitioning to head coach.
During Blocker’s tenure, the Hornets have had men or women score in every NCAA Outdoor Championships and 11 of 12 NCAA Indoor Championships. Blocker said he’s fortunate he made an impact on the Emporia State program.
Blocker was also instrumental in bringing the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships to Emporia for 2024 and 2026.
Prior to coming to Emporia, Blocker was the head coach at Culver-Stockton College in Missouri. He also spent time as an assistant coach at Santa Barbara City College for the 2006-07 season.
“We want to thank coach Blocker for his service and commitment to Emporia State and Hornet track and field,” Emporia State Vice President, Director of Athletics David Spafford said in a statement. “It is sad that we are losing him as a head coach, but I am happy that he will still be in the building and will continue to be a part of the Emporia State family.”
A national search for the next head coach will begin immediately.
