The late Al Fereshetian was the men’s cross country and track and field coach at Bates from 1995 until his retirement in 2021, during which time his program was recognized as among the finest in Division III nationwide.
During Fereshetian's tenure, Bates men's cross country runners earned 12 NCAA All-America awards. The Bobcats traveled to NCAAs as a team seven times, finishing in 10th place in Division III in 1999, 19th in 2004, seventh in 2011, sixth in 2012, tied for 24th in 2013, 26th in 2018 and 32nd in 2019.
Fereshetian guided Bates men's track & field and cross country to three straight Program of the Year top-10 rankings from 2012 to 2014, which requires a program to compete as a team at NCAA Championships in all three athletic seasons. By the end of the 2019-20 academic year, 39 student-athletes have won indoor track and field All-America honors 55 times in 11 different events under Fereshetian, including six NCAA champions. In outdoor track & field, Fereshetian's student-athletes have won an additional 34 All-America honors in seven different events, including three national champions.
In 2011, Coach Fereshetian was named Men's Track & Field Coach of the Year by the New England Small College Athletic Conference and New England Men's Track & Field Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. He was also named NESCAC Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2011. In March 2012, Fereshetian won Coach of the Year honors for the third consecutive calendar season, when he received New England Men's Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year honors from the USTFCCCA.
Fereshetian, a 1983 graduate of the University of New Hampshire, started his career as an assistant for the women’s track and field team at UNH before assisting at the University of Kansas from 1984 to 1988. As the head coach at Appalachian State University, Fereshetian’s men’s cross country teams won three Southern Conference championships from 1989 to 1994. In 2010, Appalachian State inducted Fereshetian into the ASU Athletics Hall of Fame. In 1994, his team placed fifth at the National Invitational at Penn State and was ranked 20th nationally among NCAA Division I teams. Fereshetian was the Southern Conference Coach of the Year three times for cross country and four times for track and field.
“I attempt to direct and orchestrate what our team does,” says Fereshetian, “but ultimately it is the team and each individual member that determines how successful we will be. Winning is nice, and it’s important, but there are many ways in which you can win. Knowledge and experience gained throughout the process will help individuals win in life.”
