Alabama State University Athletics

Ritchie Beene enters his 16th year at the helm of the men’s and women’s cross country program, and 26th overall with Alabama State University as the 2022-23 season gets underway.
 
He served as an assistant coach under the legendary Horace Crump for 11 years before taking over as the head coach upon Crump’s retirement. 

During his tenure as an assistant coach, he helped lead the cross country and track and field teams to 13 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championships and the men’s team to two. He led the women’s cross country team to four championships and three top finishes on the men’s side.

While at the helm of the men’s and women’s cross country/track and field programs, he has amassed a total of 38 SWAC championship titles and Coach of Year honors. Beene has a combined 54 SWAC Championships, making him of one the winningest coach in all Division I sports.

Although the 2019-20 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Beene still led Alabama State to a possible three out of four championships during the calendar year. The women’s cross country team captured a conference crown, and the two teams combined to send seven (six females and one male) to represent the university at the NCAA South Regional. He also led the indoor track and field programs to a sweep of the conference championships, the 12th for the women and the fourth for the men.

Beene became the all-time winningest coach in SWAC indoor track and field when the men and women swept the SWAC indoor championships in 2019. That same year, Jamie Brown qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Later in the year, the Hornets would sweep the SWAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and the team qualified two relay teams and six events for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Brown made his second trip to the NCAA championships, finishing his career as a First Team All-American.

Since taking over in 2008, Beene has led the women’s program to nine cross country championships, 12 indoor championships and 10 outdoor championship titles. He has also coached the men’s program to one cross country, five indoor and one outdoor championships.

Both the men’s and women’s team captured conference championships in 2017, the first title for the men since 2004. That year, the Hornets had five student-athletes qualify for nationals, with two student-athletes also competing in the United States Track and Field Championships.

In the spring of 2016, the women pulled off the trifecta yet again. They also qualified the 4x100-meter relay for the NCAA Regionals, and qualified 10 members for nationals while the men’s 4x100-meter team also qualified.

During the 2015 season, the women’s cross country team not only accomplished winning on the track, but they also were recognized by the NCAA with the APR Recognition Award. That same fall, the Lady Hornets captured their fifth consecutive conference crown, and finished in the top six spots as individuals in the race – finishing with a perfect score. After pulling off the trifecta again on the women’s side with all three titles (2015), the women’s 4x400-meter relay team qualified for nationals and finished as Second Team All-Americans. The team had eight student-athletes qualify for regionals and six for nationals that year.

The 2014-15 season was another banner year Beene and the Hornets, with the women’s cross country winning their fourth consecutive conference championship. The winning carried over to indoor with the women winning their seventh consecutive title, and followed that up with their 10th overall outdoor title.  

In 2011, the women’s cross country team won their six overall conference title, while five members of the team were named to the All-SWAC teams. Beene was named the 2011 Women’s SWAC Coach of the Year. He helped pull off the trifecta when track season rolled around as the women won both the SWAC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field titles.  Beene was named the Women’s Coach of the Year in both sports. He coached four runners that season that qualified for the NCAA Regionals and had one conference MVP at the indoor championships and two MVP’s at the outdoor championships.

In 2010, the women’s team won the SWAC Outdoor championship and the men’s team tied for third. During that same year, the men’s 4x800 team held the second-fastest time in the NCAA for three weeks, while five individual student-athletes and the men’s 4x400 relay team qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships. That same year in cross country, the men’s and women’s cross country teams finished third in the SWAC Championships, while having four of his runners named to the All-SWAC teams.

Beene is also an instructor of Health and Physical Education, and is the co-advisor of the HPER Club. He is an active member of the Alabama Education Association and Alabama State Association for Health, United States Track and Field Association, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and Troy Chapel AME Zion Male Chorus.
 
He graduated from Alcorn State University, where he was named cross country MVP and was selected for inclusion in Who’s Who Among College Athletics. He also is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., and the Sounds of Dynamite Marching Band.
 
Beene is married to the former Yolanda Flowers, and they are the parents of Jordan an Paige. 
      
BY THE NUMBERS

• 57 SWAC Championships (combined as assistant / head coach)
• 57 SWAC Event Champions
• 52 NCAA Regional Qualifiers
• 40 school records (set by student-athletes)
• 40 SWAC Coach of the Year Honors
• 15 SWAC Most Valuable Athletes
• 11 NCAA Qualifiers
• 9 NCAA Cross Country Regional Championships
• 18 SWAC Indoor Records (set by student-athletes)
• 8 SWAC Triple Crowns
• 8 school cross country records (set by student-athletes)
• 11 NCAA All- Americans
• 4 NCAA Academic All-American Teams
• 6 SWAC Outdoor Records
• 3 NCAA South/Southeast Region Coach of Year Nominations
• 2 perfect SWAC Championship Cross Country Scores
• 2 SWAC Women of the Year