FARMINGTON, Utah (May 21, 2026) – Legendary Northern Arizona Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Eric Heins will be among eight inductees into the 2026 Big Sky Hall of Fame Class on Saturday, July 25, in Spokane, Wash. The Big Sky Conference office officially announced its fifth induction class on Thursday.
This year's Hall of Fame Class will be inducted during the 2026 Big Sky Football Kickoff Weekend at the Northern Quest Resort & Casino in Spokane. Tickets for the Hall of Fame ceremony, which have sold out the past three years, can be purchased at
BigSkyConf.com/HOF. Each ticket is $85, plus fees, and includes admission to the gala, a commemorative poster and a meal.
Heins is NAU's eighth inductee into the Big Sky Hall of Fame, tied for the most of any member institution. Of NAU's eight Big Sky Hall of Famers, seven have come from the Lumberjacks' storied cross country and track & field programs. Heins joins Lopez Lomong, Ron Mann and Angela Chalmers (2021), Archie Amerson (2023), Johanna Nilsson, Ida Nilsson and David McNeill (2025) as Lumberjacks in Big Sky Hall of Fame.
Heins' distinguished coaching career at NAU began in 2007 when he arrived as head cross country coach following a stint at TCU. He was promoted to Director of Track & Field and Cross Country in 2010 and ultimately led the Lumberjacks to 28 Big Sky Championships during his tenure.
His career at NAU was capped with the school's first-ever team national championship in 2016, as he led the Lumberjacks to the Men's Cross Country National Championship in his final season. NAU's title in 2016 began a dynastic stretch of six Division I national championships in seven years. Heins, a 27-time Big Sky Coach of the Year, was named the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year.
While at NAU, Heins coached 64 individual Big Sky Conference champions and 25 student-athletes to a total of 55 All-American honors. In nine appearances at the NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships, Heins' teams reached the podium on six occasions.
Heins, an NAU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee in 2022, also had five of his distance runners compete at the Summer Olympics and coached McNeill to individual national titles in the indoor and outdoor 5K in 2010.
Heins is currently the head cross country coach and associate track & field distance coach at Indiana, a role he has held since 2023. Following his time at NAU, Heins also has served as head track & field coach at St. Thomas-Houston (2019-21) and assistant track & field/cross country coach at Louisville (2021-23).
Heins is one of eight inductees in the 2026 Hall of Fame Class, who was selected by a committee of 14 members, which included representative from all 10 full-time Big Sky institutions, as well as an additional Athletic Director, Senior Women's Administrator, a conference office representative, and an at-large committee member among the group of 14 voters.
Including this year's class, the Big Sky Hall of Fame now features 54 total members.
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2026 Big Sky Hall of Fame Class
Pam Parks, Eastern Washington (Volleyball Coach/Administrator)
Frank Hawkins, Nevada (Football Student-Athlete)
Erin Heins, Northern Arizona (Cross Country/Track and Field Coach)
Dennis Erickson, Idaho/Montana State (Coach/Student-Athlete)
Jackie Ross Maddox, Idaho (Track and Field Student-Athlete)
Amber Henry, Weber State (Cross Country/Track and Field Athlete)
Micheal Ray Richardson, Montana (Men's Basketball Student-Athlete)
Willie Sojourner, Weber State (Men's Basketball Student-Athlete)
