FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Former Olympian and high jump world champion Troy Kemp has joined the Northern Arizona University track and field coaching staff as an assistant coach for the 2011-12 season, announced Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Eric Heins.

"Troy will be able to add a high level of expertise in coaching our athletes based on his own experiences as an athlete," said Heins. "He will be a valuable asset in preparing the team both mentally and physically for our bigger meets during the season." 

Kemp, who competed collegiately for Boise State from 1987-88, comes to NAU after spending the past 10 years coaching on the club and high school levels in Boise, Idaho, where he also worked as a support engineer for Hewlett-Packard. 

In his short college career with the Broncos, Kemp notched a second-place finish in the high jump at the NCAA Indoor National Championship in 1988.  He set the Boise State indoor high jump record in that meet (7-6 ½), a record that still stands today.  Kemp earned four All-America honors for Boise State, which included his record performance as well as three third-place national marks (1987 Indoor, 1987 Outdoor, 1988 Outdoor).

Kemp continued onto the world stage after leaving Boise State, where he was able to compete and contend for championships for the better part of the next decade.  Kemp, a native of the Bahamas, represented his home country in two Pan-American Games, three Olympic Games, and six World Championships (2 indoor, 4 outdoor).  He received the silver medal in both Pan-American Games performances, the first coming in the 1987 games in Indianapolis, Ind., and the second coming in the 1991 Cuba Games.  Kemp was a finalist in both the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain and the 1996 Games in Atlanta, but his best world finishes of the mid-90s came at the IAAF World Championships in 1993 and 1995.  Kemp earned fourth-place finishes at both the indoor and outdoor world meets in 1993. At the 1995 World Outdoor Championships in Gottenburg, Sweden, Kemp was crowned world champion in the high jump with a jump of 7-9 ¼. 

Kemp's coach at Boise State was current NAU Assistant Coach Ed Jacoby, who came to Flagstaff last year for his second stint as a Lumberjack track coach. Jacoby has 43 years of experience in the NCAA coaching ranks and earned numerous awards for his position as the head coach at Boise State for 25 of those years, so he most certainly knows talent when he sees it.

"I've known Troy for over 20 years, and I know he can have an immediate impact on this program," said Jacoby. "I think he has a strong coaching career ahead of him." 

Jacoby and Kemp will be able to rekindle their friendship and establish a new kind of master-apprentice relationship this season, as Kemp learns the ropes of coaching sprints, hurdles, and jumps.

"This is a great opportunity for me to learn a lot more about track and field as a whole," said Kemp. "Coach Jacoby is one of the best in the business in terms of coaching sprints and hurdles.  I knew when he asked me to coach that it was something I couldn't pass up." 

For a team that already contends on the conference level, and sends individuals to the regional and national meets on a yearly basis, the Lumberjacks can only stand to benefit more from Kemp's addition to the program.  NAU's all-conference and All-America track athletes throughout its history have commonly come in the form of distance runners and throwers, but it should only be a matter of time until Kemp and Jacoby's leadership produce conference and national finishers in the jumps as well.

"No matter what I've done in the past in terms of coaching, competing, and even working with different companies, I have always been led back to this sport," said Kemp. "My passion for anything begins with my love of track and field."

Troy Kemp – Career Highlights (High Jump)

1987 –NCAA Indoor Championships (3^rd), NCAA Outdoor Championships (3^rd); Indianapolis Pan-Am Games (Silver), IAAF Outdoor World Championships (DNP)

1988 – Set (current) BSU high jump record and placed 2^nd at NCAA Indoor Championship (2^nd; holds current Boise State record [7-6 ½]), NCAA Outdoor Championships (3^rd), Seoul Olympics (DNP)

1989 – IAAF Indoor World Championships (DNP)

1991 – Cuba Pan-Am Games (Silver), IAAF Outdoor World Championships (5^th)

1992 –Barcelona Olympics (Finalist)

1993 – IAAF Outdoor World Championships (4^th), IAAF Indoor World Championships (4^th)

1995 – IAAF Outdoor World Championships (Champion; 7'9.25 – Gottenburg, Sweden)

1996 – Finalist at Atlanta Olympics