TicketsAug. 14, 2007
Since Bill Schnier's arrival at the University of Cincinnati, the Bearcat track and field and cross country programs have progressed into some of the most competitive in the country.
Entering his 28th season at the helm of the Bearcats, Schnier looks to take the teams to the top of the BIG EAST. He led the 2005 men's squad to a sixth-place finish at the BIG EAST Championships in its first year in the conference.
The Conference USA Coach of the Decade for both cross country and track, Schnier has led the men's team to 12 conference titles and did not finish lower than third at a conference championship meet since 1986 until 2006 when the Bearcats joined the BIG EAST.
Since arriving in 1980, Schnier has seen 124 of his athletes earn individual conference championships. He has qualified 15 athletes for the NCAA Championships and mentored five all-Americans. A 14-time conference coach of the year, Schnier was named Ohio Cross Country Coach of the Year in 1995.
UC added women's track in 1996 and in just three years, Schnier led the Bearcats to a best-ever fourth place finish at the C-USA indoor championship in 1999. He also garnered two third place finishes in cross country in 1998 and 1999. He turned the reigns of the women's program over to longtime assistant Jim Schnur in 2001.
Of Schnier's athletes, 15 have won the prestigious Jimmy Nippert Award, honoring the most outstanding male senior student-athlete. He has also coached three winners of the Helen Norman Smith award, honoring the top female student-athlete.
A 1966 graduate of Capital University in Bexley, Ohio, Schnier played baseball for two years before switching to track and eventually setting the school's half-mile record, which still stands. Schnier earned master's degrees from both Wright State and Indiana University in 1977 before earning his doctorate in human performance from Indiana in 1987. He taught history for seven years while coaching cross country and track and field at Trotwood Madison High in Trotwood, Ohio, before heading back to collegiate coaching, accepting an assistantship at Indiana.
Schnier is married to the former Kathy Henn. The couple has three children: Lorraine (27), Ellen (24) and Keller (22). Keller is a decathlete for the UC track and field team.