UND head track and field coach Kevin Galbraith announced Wednesday that the 2018-19 season will be his final one leading the program.
Galbraith, who arrived in Grand Forks in 2011, played an integral role in the planning of the UND Athletics High Performance Center.
"I have enjoyed my time at the University of North Dakota immensely and that makes the decision for this to be my last season a difficult one," Galbraith said. "The best aspect about being a part of North Dakota Athletics is the people. We have fantastic athletes, fans and staff-the best of any program I've ever had the pleasure to be a part of."
Galbraith said he desired to spend more time with, and be located nearer to, his father and family in Oregon following the 2019 season.
"I still enjoy coaching, but being so far removed from my family situation weighs heavily. If you try to keep your heart and soul in two places, neither side gets all of you and you compromise what you're doing," said Galbraith.
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Perhaps the best all-around meet to date with Galbraith leading the program was at the 2018 Big Sky Conference Outdoor Championship, where the women finished fifth and men finished sixth. North Dakota had 13 combined all-conference finishes at the meet, including Molli Detloff being named Big Sky Conference MVP for the second consecutive year.
"Coach Galbraith has done a marvelous job turning our track and field teams from Division II squads into a solid Division I program," said UND Associate Athletic Director Kyle Doperalski, who oversees the track and field program administratively.
More than 75 school records were set at UND in Galbraith's time as head coach, to go with 16 individual conference championships and 72 all-conference honors.
Prior to his eight seasons at North Dakota, Galbraith spent seven years as head coach at Northern Colorado and five seasons (1999-2004) as an assistant track and field coach at Long Beach State University.
North Dakota's search for a new head track and field coach will begin in the spring.
