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Terry Rhodes

FORT VALLEY, Ga. – A new Wildcats leader ready to 'hit the ground' running and take the programs back to prominence. Fort Valley State has selected Terry Rhodes as the new head cross country and track & field coach.
 
A person who prides himself on his passion for athletes excelling in the classroom, Rhodes comes to FVSU from spending the last three years as Jackson State's assistant cross country and track & field coach. Over his career working with collegiate student-athletes, Rhodes enjoyed success coaching national championship winning athletes and others earning opportunities running in SEC, B1G Ten and ACC institutions, but his proudest moment came while his Spartanburg Methodist College women's cross country team won the award for the National Junior College Athletic Association's highest average team GPA and the men's team finished in the top 10 nationally for its highest average team GPA.
 
In the last three years at Jackson State, Rhodes coached multiple Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championship scoring athletes, including a conference champion runner up. During his two seasons leading the women's cross country team, the Tigers improved six places from 10th to fourth within the SWAC. The new Wildcats coach was also in charge of recruiting for Jackson State where he successfully signed regionally and nationally-ranked high school athletes, including last year's nationally-ranked top Georgia high school 200-meter sprinter.
 
A Chicagoland native, who completed in high school in metro Atlanta, started the Spartanburg Methodist cross country and track & field programs in 2013. In a short time, Rhodes coached several academic All-American, including one of the NJCAA's top sprinters, Lorenzo Larry, who went on to successfully compete at the University of Wisconsin. While at SMC, his squad's won two conference women's cross country titles and one men's conference crown, while his men's and women's track & field programs captured the Mid East Juco Challenge championship. Rhodes guided over 25 track & field athletes qualify for nationals and two top eight women's cross country runners, including a national runner up.

The former SEC athlete at the University of Mississippi started his collegiate coaching career at Chattahoochee Technical College in Metro Atlanta. Following his first year, Rhodes was named Associate Head Coach and directed multiple academic All-Americans, had over 80 athletes compete NJCAA D1 National Championships, and multiple national championship scorers, including an individual national champion and a national runner up. At Chatt Tech, he also hosted, co-coordinated and managed the National Junior College Half Marathon Championship. The program also won the 2012 Outdoor Women's Super Regional Championship and the runner-up team for the 2012 Outdoor Men's Super Regional Championship.   

The Ole Miss graduate competed for the track & field team, which competed at the NCAA DI National Championships.

While he focuses on his programs being driven to succeed academically and athletically, Rhodes sites his family history for motivation for him to raise the bar and encourage his student-athletes to make a difference in their community. His influences are his grandfather, Thomas Simpson, who was the first black police officer in Skokie, Illinois and founding pastor of two churches; his uncle Harry Suitcase Simpson, who was the third black professional baseball player in the American League in MLB history; and his cousin, Mel Pinder, who is a former Olympian and World Record holder.
 
 
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