Riley Huffman was announced as the head coach for the Marian cross country and track and field programs in January of 2026.
"I'd like to welcome Riley to Marian University," said Director of Athletics Tony Draves. "We're excited for Riley to energize the cross country and track and field programs at Marian. His background and passion for helping student-athletes reach their potential fits in well with the mission and core values of Marian. Welcome Riley!"
Huffman joins Marian after spending time as an assistant coach at Western Colorado University, NCAA Division II, for three seasons. He had a heavy role in the recruiting process and developing workout programs for student-athletes during his time as a Mountaineer. During his time, the Mountaineer cross country program proved to be one of the best in NCAA Division II with the women finishing fourth at the NCAA Division II Championships in 2019. The men's program had two All-Americans that season. Then in 2020, the women's program earned an RMAC Championship and the men finished second at the RMAC Championships. The 2021 campaign saw both programs finish ninth or better at the national championship meet with a pair of All-American finishers.
His first season with the track and field program was cut short due to the CoVID-19 pandemic but saw similar success in his two full seasons. Both the men's and women's programs finished second at the 2021 RMAC Championships before the program saw two student-athletes crowned National Champions and six named All-Americans at the NCAA Division II Championships. The 2022 campaign then saw another distance runner earn All-American status.
Collegiately, Huffman competed in cross country and track and field at UW-Eau Claire from 2014-2018. Huffman helped lead the Blugold cross country program to a seventh-place finish or better at the NCAA Division III Championship all four years of his career. This includes the 2015 season that saw UW-Eau Claire earn its first every cross country National Championship. His final two seasons saw him earn All-Region, All-Conference, and All-Academic honors with his personal best time of 24:15 in the 8,000-kilometer in 2017 placing him fourth all-time in UWEC history. Huffman served as a captain in 2017 and earned the Blugold Award, voted on by the team to recognize great teammate and leadership qualities. Â
"I'm extremely excited for the opportunity to coach the cross country and track and field programs at Marian," said Huffman. "Marian offers an outstanding community built on strong core values, and I'm eager to contribute to instilling those values in the student-athletes I have the privilege of coaching. Having competed at the NCAA Division III level and coached the NCAA Division II level, I aim to combine the student-centered focus of Division III with the high-level training approaches I developed in Division II. I hope to cultivate a program that emphasizes sportsmanship, character development, and success through preparation."
Huffman earned a masters of science in high altitude exercise physiology while coaching at Western Colorado University in 2021. He also earned a bachelors of science in kinesiology and human performance at UW-Eau Claire in 2018.
