Print Beene's Bio

Chris Beene enters his ninth season as head coach of the cross country and track and field teams at South Plains College.

Since his arrival in Levelland, Beene has led the Texans and Lady Texans to a combined 20 NJCAA championships in men's and women's cross country, half-marathon, indoor track and outdoor track, all of which have flooded in since 2006.

Three of those team titles came last season when Beene led his teams to NJCAA Championships in the women's half-marathon in the fall and then followed that up with a sweep of the men's and women's outdoor titles on their home track last May.

Led by a 1-2 finish by freshman Darroneshia Lott and sophomore Kirsten Taylor, the Lady Texans tied for top honors for the second consecutive season in the women's half-marathon. The duo was followed by a ninth place finish by Michaela Johnson to finish with 12 points.

Beene also oversaw a sweep of the individual cross country titles as Natoya Goule and Kemoy Campbell improved upon their second place finishes in 2010 to easily claim the top spot at the 2011 NJCAA Championships in Hobbs, N.M.

On the track, the Texans and Lady Texan track teams continued their dominant ways, this time defending their championships at the Texan Track and Field Complex in Levelland. The men's team title was never in doubt as the Texans annihilated the competition with 163 team points, 88.5 points ahead of the meet's runner-up finisher. The race for the women's team title was a bit closer, but as the meet neared its end the Lady Texans had firm control and would go on to win with a comfortable 23 point margin.

It was the fourth consecutive year both teams have swept the men's and women's titles and the sixth year in a row the Texans have been the victors of the outdoor championship.

Beene was named Coach of the Meet following the competition in which South Plains claimed 18 individual and relay championships, eight runner-ups, and seven third place finishes throughout the men's and women's competitions. Kemoy Campbell and Janeil Bellille were named men's and women's track athletes of the meet as Campbell claimed the 1,500- and 5,000-meter crowns and Bellille set an NJCAA meet record in the 400-hurdles in addition to winning the 110-meter hurdle championship and running legs on the 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays.

The 2010-11 school year saw Beene's teams rack up four NJCAA national titles, the first coming when the Lady Texans claimed a share of the NJCAA Half-Marathon title in November by posting a score of 17 points. The following March the Lady Texan indoor track and field team dominated the field by nearly 100 points to lay claim to a second NJCAA championship of the school year and then both the Texans and Lady Texans swept the outdoor track titles in May, marking the third consecutive year they have combined to sweep the competition.

In all, Beene helped lead his athletes to a combined 28 individual and relay national championships as well as a grand total of 55 All-American certificates during the 2010-11 seasons. For their efforts, Natoya Goule and Jura Levy were named co-athletes of the meet after both indoor and outdoor NJCAA Championship meets. Beene earned the distinction of being named the Women's Indoor and Outdoor Coach of the Meet as well as the Men's Outdoor Coach of the Meet.

Beene helped guide six athletes to nine All-American awards during the 2009 cross country season that culminated with the Texan men defending their title at the NJCAA half-marathon held in Overland Park, Kansas. Later that spring, Beene coached Kelly Closse (shot put, discus), Colleen Felix (javelin), Shakeeri Cole (800), and Marcelis Lynch (800) to individual titles in addition to helping guide the 4x800 meter relay team easily win in Hutchinson where both the men's and women's teams took home team titles for the second year in a row. For his efforts, Beene was later voted by his peers as Coach of the Year for both men and women.

The 2008-09 fall and spring seasons may very well have been the best in a rich history of South Plains College track and cross country teams as SPC won five championships out of eight possible, with the SPC men coming just short of sweeping all four. It all started with the Texans coming away with a half-marathon championship in the fall. The Texan and Lady Texan track teams then blew away their competition in the spring by sweeping each of the NJCAA indoor and outdoor national championships and are only one-of-four schools to ever win all four titles in the same year at any collegiate level. The Texan cross country team finished only 12 points away from taking the cross country title.

In the last six years, Beene has coached athletes that currently hold 9 NJCAA meet or national records. His athletes who have won over 100 individual and relay national championships, and a host of all-American awards.

Beene came to South Plains College from Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, where he was named Women's NAIA Region 5 and 6 Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2004. He also earned Men's Sooner Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2003 and 2004 and also won the NAIA Sooner Athletic Conference championship in 2003.

Before Wayland, Beene served four seasons as an assistant coach at Texas Tech University where he was in charge of coaching the multi-events, pole vault, and javelin. He has also had previous coaching stints at Abilene Christian University and Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

During his time at Abilene Christian, Beene was part of 12 NCAA Division II national team championships. He also coached two decathletes to individual national championships as well.

Additionally, Beene coached Stephen Moore and Trafton Rodgers. Rodgers went on to win the USATF Men's Heptathlon Indoor Championships, while Moore won a USA Indoor championship and went on to place fourth at the World Indoor Championships in Barcelona, Spain. Both have competed in the United States Olympic Trials, with Rodgers in 2000 and Moore in 2000 as well as 2004. Moore also won a gold medal in the decathlon at the Pan-American Games.

A former all-American decathlete, Beene received both his bachelor and master degrees in kinesiology from Angelo State University. He and his wife, Corye, have a daughter, Faith, and a son, Sage.

Frank Barker begins his second season assisting the Texan and Lady Texan cross country and track and field teams. He will work primarily with the distance runners.

His first season with South Plains College proved to be a successful one as he helped the Lady Texans to a share of the NJCAA Half-Marathon championship in November, 2010.A week earlier at the NJCAA cross country championships, both squads ran well with the Lady Texans coming up just short of the title with a runner-up finish and the Texans finishing third.Seven athletes earned All-American honors.

Coach Barker spent 39 years as a coach and teacher at Levelland Independent School District. His career in Levelland began in 1969 as an assistant football coach. He began coaching the cross country team in 1976 where he helped his teams qualify to every regional meet, except 1983, until his retirement.

In 1982 Barker took over as the head track coach for varsity girls.

After his retirement from Levelland after the 2008 school year, Coach Barker signed on to assist the cross country and track teams at Lubbock Christian University. In his two year stint at LCU Barker helped coach five athletes to the NAIA national meet and one became an all-American.

Katie Edens begins her first year as the head athletic trainer for the South Plains College Texans and Lady Texans.

A native of Rochester, Minn., Katie's primary responsibilities include direct care of Texan and Lady Texan student-athletes, supervision of student athletic trainers, as well as management and administration of the athletic training room.

Prior to being hired at South Plains, Edens spent two years with Lubbock Sports Medicine while also working towards a Master's degree in Athletic Training at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, which she finished in May, 2012.

Edens is a 2006 graduate of Bemidji State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education, specializing in mathematics and coaching. She spent time as a teacher in Washington and her home state of Minnesota prior to entering the field of athletic training.

Joe Tubb enters his 30th year as the director of athletics at South Plains College where he has overseen 30 NJCAA Championships in men's and women's track and field, cross country, half-marathon, and men's basketball.

In addition to his duties leading the SPC athletic department, Tubb also enters his second year serving as the President of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), where he is responsible for a myriad of duties including presiding over annual, executive, and special meetings for the second largest intercollegiate athletic association.

Tubb - who has served in multiple capacities over the years and has been instrumental in the growth of two-year collegiate athletics - was recently the recipient of the highest honor bestowed upon by the National Alliance of Two-Year Collegiate Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA) when he was recognized and received the L. William Miller Award at a Dallas awards luncheon on June 25, 2012. In 2006 and 2010 Tubb was named Athletic Director of the Year by the National Association of College Athletic Directors (NACDA).

At South Plains College, Tubb is responsible for supervising all sports programs and coordinating other activities specifically designed to promote athletics at the college. Additionally, Tubb is responsible for the Texan Dome, the intramural and recreational program, and Texas High School University Interscholastic League (UIL) events hosted by the college including the boys and girls Region I Class A basketball tournaments and the Region I Class A track and field, tennis, and golf championships.

All 30 of SPC's NJCAA national championships have occurred under Tubb's watch and the 2011-12 season was one of the most successful in the history of SPC athletics as SPC athletes brought home national titles in the women's half-marathon, men's basketball, and men's and women's track and field. The Texan basketball team became only the sixth team in history to complete an undefeated season en-route to claiming the NJCAA national championship and also brought the basketball championship home in 2008.

Since taking over as athletic director in 1983, the Texan and Lady Texan basketball teams have also claimed a combined 13 Western Junior College Athletic Conference (WJCAC) championships while both teams have won the Region 5 tournament seven times on their way to earning a spot in the NJCAA Tournament.

Under Tubb's direction the college has also hosted eight NJCAA Championship events, most recently the 2012 Outdoor Track and Field Championships where the Texans and Lady Texans swept the team titles. South Plains College is scheduled to host the 2012 NJCAA half-marathon, 2013 golf, and 2014 and 2016 outdoor track and field championships.

Tubb is most proud of the success SPC athletes have had in the classroom where a high percentage have graduated and moved on to compete and attend four-year institutions. He gives much of the credit for to the high quality of coaches that South Plains College has been able to attract and to the Assistance for Student-Athlete Program (ASAP) that has been installed over the years and includes mandatory study halls, drug testing, faculty mentor programs, and special classes covering time management, drug abuse, test taking, and sex education, among others.

Tubb also oversees the operation of the Texan Club, the athletic booster club at SPC comprised of civic leaders and local businessmen and women.

Tubb knows what it means to be a student-athlete at SPC. He played on the men's intercollegiate golf team under head coach Bill Powell as a student during the 1966-67 school year before transferring to West Texas A&M University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics with a minor in physical education and graduated as a member of the Alpha Chi Honor Society in 1971. In 1981, Tubb earned a Master's degree in physical education from Sul Ross State University. The following year, 1982, Tubb was selected as an Outstanding Young Man of America.

Following a 12-year career as a high school coach and teacher, Tubb returned to his alma mater in 1983 when he accepted the role as director of athletics.

Active in the community, Tubb is a past president and Rotarian since 1983. He has also served in various positions including president of the Levelland Country Club, local board member of the American Cancer Society, and director of the George White District of Boy Scouts of America.

Tubb is a lifetime member of the Texas High School Coaches Association and a former member of the Basketball Advisory Committee. He served as Director of Region 5 from 1999-2009 and has been a member of NATYCAA since 1989 and has sat on the NATYCAA board since 2001. In April 2010 he was elected to serve as the NJCAA 1st Vice-President for men, a position he maintained until being elected President.

Tubb and his wife, Kathy, have been married 45 years and have a son, Chad, and a daughter, Lesli, who is a coach's wife and teach in Lubbock, Texas. Lesli has two children, Kayli and Kade.

Joe Walker enters his fifth year at South Plains College. Hired in October, 2008, Walker came to South Plains College from Texas Tech University where he served as the Director of Operations for Track and Field and Cross Country for four years.

At SPC he assists with marketing and promotions of the athletic department, handles statistics at basketball games, responds to media requests regarding sports programs, and assists with UIL activities, among other duties assigned by the athletic director.

Additionally, Walker was instrumental in creating and now coordinates the NJCAA Region 5 website and is responsible for communicating with coaches from around the region to gather scores and other information relevant to the schools competing in Region 5.

Walker is a 2003 graduate of the University of Arkansas and attained a Masters degree in education from Sul Ross State University in 2011.

Contact Information

806-716-2209 office

awalker@southplainscollege.edu