Virginia cross country head coach Jason Dunn would be the first person to note that personal recognition is not everything.
When asked what it was like to be named ACC Cross Country Coach of the Year, Dunn responded plainly, "It is nice." Dunn made sure to divert any attention to his 2005 ACC Championship-winning men's squad.
"Frankly, bringing back the team trophy was enough for me," Dunn said. "This [award] is a nice honor, but the championship trophy was what I was really shooting for, so my satisfaction, up to this point of the season, comes from that."
Most coaches argue they are only as good as their players, and Dunn agrees.
"We have put together a good group of guys, but they have done the work," Dunn said. "My job is to encourage them to do so, but in our sport, you only go so far with how much work you put in. Those guys are the ones that ran literally thousands of miles for the past six to eight months."
For many awards in collegiate sports, sportswriters and sportscasters, as well as former award winners, gather to vote for the most deserving players or coaches. However, in this instance, Dunn was named the best cross country coach out of 12 conference teams by his peers, other ACC coaches.
"It may sound a little clichéd, but in our case, it is very much a team award," Dunn said. "It is all about hard work. I certainly encourage the guys to work hard, but they are the ones that put in the 100-mile weeks to this point. It is really nice, and it is a good reflection of the program."
In his over five years at Virginia, Dunn has helped build on a program that has not enjoyed much postseason success since 1984, when Virginia won its last ACC title. Since 2000, Dunn has coached one All-American, 17 All-Region and 16 All-ACC honorees, including this year's seven recipients. The 2002 and 2003 seasons, arguably Virginia's best all-around cross country seasons in the last decade, featured appearances by both the men and women in national competitions.
"Since I arrived here about five and half years ago, we talked about trying to build a program that could contend with ACC titles every year and be one of the best programs in the country," Dunn said. "I think that we are starting to become that group now. Obviously, we won the championship, but we want to see now how we stack up on the national level in days coming up here."
At the Nov. 12 Southeast Regional meet, Virginia, especially the men's squad, enters with the confidence it needs to follow up its Oct. 31 ACC title with a strong performance.
"[The ACC title] shows us that if we run as a tight team and win ACC championships, we can compete with the top programs in all of the country," junior Andrew Dumm said. "The regionals are going to be tough competition, and we are definitely going after the regional title. The top two spots at regionals advances you to nationals, and that is really one of our goals."
Armed with the ACC Coach of the Year and a men's squad still excited about its title, Virginia hopes to faces its opponent with a different kind of a running start.
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