Named the 2007 and 2009 Southwestern Athletic Coach of the Year in Cross Country, Coach Curtis Pittman is in his first year at Grambling State University. His focus is with the 800 meter runners along with middle distance and distance runners (800m-10,000m).
Prior to Grambling, Coach Pittman spent two years at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, where he coached distance runners. He coached a freshman named Wesley Kirui who made it to the NCAA Track and Field Championships in the 3,000 meter steeplechase.
Prior to his stint in Hampton, he spent seven years at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Pittman guided the Lady Lions to its first ever championship and the first for UAPB since 1966 when UAPB football was named SWAC Co- Champs.
Conference Championships are not new to Pittman, having won five MEAC Championships while at Bethune-Cookman College (‘94-’03). His last being 2001, a year prior to taking the position as Head Track and Field Coach at UAPB, replacing the legendary U.S. Grant, who had the position for 43 years.
In 2003, his hurdler Kerry Thomas (Dallas, Skyline HS) qualified for the NCAA Championships with a time of 13.56 in the 100HH, in 2004 both Dyshanda Avery (Stuggart HS) qualified in the hammer (169’7) and LaKeisha Martin (Pine Bluff HS) qualified in the 100m (11.78) for the NCAA; in 2006 Michelle Fedrick (FL., Tampa Middleton HS) qualified at 54. 13 in the 400m; in 2008 Vasity Chemweno (Kenya, Singore Girl’s SS) qualified in the 800m (2:09.36) while Theresa Padilla (CALIF., Southwestern College) ran 16:28 in the 5000m.
This past 2008 outdoor season, Arthur Thomas (Lake Providence HS) qualified for the NCAA Regional with a throw of 158 in the Hammer and then smashed his personal best with a 172’7” in the NCAA Regional held at the University of Louisville.
In 1982 Pittman as a volunteer assistant under Orin Richburg, coached Cathy Calo from Kent State University to a Penn Relay victory in the Javelin (163’9”). In 1994 Pittman got his first NCAA Head Coaching position at Kentucky State University. There Pittman got his first NCAA Division II All-American, Corey Hicks who took 3rd place in the Decathlon scoring over 7000 points. Other notable athletes who qualified for the NCAA’s under Pittman while at Bethune-Cookman were Luci Bujetova (triple jump/’01) and Venice Watson (long jump’99); Nicole Carty represented her country Jamaica at the World Cross Country Championships(1996) in South Africa and Chrystal ( Coach Bowers) Finlayson represented the Bahamas at the Senior Caribbean Central American Games (1999) held in Puerto Rico.
In 2001 Pittman was named the National Coach for Uganda and took George Mason’s ‘96 NCAA Outdoor 800m (1:44.5) Champion and record holder Julius Achon (3:37/1500m) and Grace Burunji (2:04/ 800m) to Edmonton, Canada. Pittman a multi purpose athlete at Kent State University (69-71) ran 110mHH (14.3); long jumped (22’1); triple jumped (47’6”); threw the javelin (198’) under Douglas Raymond and played Defensive Back under Dave Puddington.
In 1978 went back to KSU to receive his Bachelor of Science Degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation and got his Masters of Arts Degree in Mass Communications at Southern University A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1985.
A member of the Omega Psi Phi Incorporated Fraternity, Pittman has two sons Brian E. Johnson who attended Virginia Union and Imani W. Denson-Pittman who graduated from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst..
