Rowing
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- kevin-harris@utulsa.edu
- Phone:
- 2971
| The Harris File | |
|---|---|
| PERSONAL INFORMATION | |
| Hometown: | |
| Education: George Washington University, 1992 (bachelor's in history) University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 1997 (master's in education) | |
| Playing Experience: | |
| Family: wife, Jennifer; daughter Victoria; daughter Alexandra | |
| COACHING EXPERIENCE | |
| 2002-present: Tulsa, head coach |
|
| 1999-2002 Kansas State, assistant coach |
|
| 1997-99 Mills College, head coach |
|
| TULSA HIGHLIGHTS | |
| - 337 first place finishes - Medaled 815 boats in 163 regattas - Driving force behind the construction of the Tulsa rowing facilities - Captured second-place finishes in the American Athletic Conference Championship in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, and a third-place mark in 2019 |
|
| KANSAS STATE HIGHLIGHTS | |
| - squad garnered the school's first top-25 ranking | |
| MILLS COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS | |
| - Guided the school to its first ever NCAA Championship appearance in 1988 - became the first African-American coach to take a crew to the NCAA's |
|
Kevin Harris is in his 20th season as the head women’s rowing coach at The University of Tulsa. He became the fifth coach in school history on July 9, 2002, and since then has steadily built TU towards a stronger position within the rowing world.
During his tenure, Harris’ teams have recorded 342 first-place finishes and medaled 836 boats in 168 regattas. He has seen 150 student-athletes receive Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) National Scholar Athlete honors and his team won TU's Outstanding Team Community Service Award 11 times (2003, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’13, ’14, ‘16) for their community and campus involvement.
In 2020-21, Tulsa did not race the fall season due to the COVID-19 pandemic but competed in five regattas in the spring. The Varsity 8+ recorded a third-place mark at the American Athletic Conference Championship and the team finished third overall. The Golden Hurricane had 21 top-three marks and five first-place finishes on the season.
Tulsa did not race the 2019-20 spring season due to the global coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), but the Golden Hurricane did compete in two fall regattas. TU earned 10 top-three marks in the Tulsa Fall Invitational and captured seven medals at the Head of the Oklahoma.
In 2018-19, Tulsa turned in a third-place performance at the American Athletic Conference Championship, while the Varsity 4+ earned a silver medal and the Varsity 8+ captured the bronze medal. After the season, the team went on an 18-day foreign tour to Venice, Italy, Bled, Slovenia, and Henley on Thames, England, and competed in the Bled International Regatta and the Henley Women’s Regatta. At the 2019 Henley Women’s Regatta, Sophia Camara and Sarolta Papp captured the Lightweight Double Championship.
Tulsa finished second at the American Athletic Conference Championships for the fourth-straight year in 2017-18, while the 2nd Varsity 4+ claimed the gold medal, the Varsity 8+ earned silver and the 3rd Varsity 4+ was third. TU’s Varsity 8+ was named The American Boat of the Year. The Golden Hurricane duo of Sophia Camara and Lucy Coleman captured a silver medal in the Lightweight 2x at the Alternate to the IRA National Championship.
During the 2016-17 season, the Golden Hurricane turned in a second-place finish at the American Athletic Conference Championship for the third-straight season, earning silver medals in the Varsity 4+, 2nd Varsity 4+, 3rd Varsity 4+, Varsity 8+ and 2nd Varsity 8+. TU raced the Lightweight 4+ to a seventh-place finish and the Lightweight 8+ to a second-place Petite Final mark at the IRA National Championship.
Tulsa placed second at the American Athletic Conference Championship in 2015-16, taking the top mark in the 2nd Varsity 4+, while the Varsity 4+, Varsity 8+ and 3rd Varsity 8+ all earned silver medals. The Golden Hurricane raced both a Lightweight 2x and Lightweight 4+ at the IRA National Championship, and advanced both boats to the Grand Finals for the first time in program history. TU claimed the Lawless Cup over SMU and Central Oklahoma, and dominated Kansas State, Creighton and MIT in duels.
During the 2014-15 season, Tulsa began its streak of four-straight, second-place performances in the American Athletic Conference Championship with a top mark in the 3rd Varsity 4+, while the Varsity 4+, 2nd Varsity 4+, Varsity 8+ and 2nd Varsity 8+ boats all earned silver medals. TU took both a Lightweight 4+ and Lightweight 8+ to the IRA National Championship for the first time in school history, finishing second in the Petite Final in both events, won the Lawless Cup over SMU, and medaled four boats at the Knecht Cup. After the season, the team went to England to compete in the Reading Amateur Regatta and Women’s Henley Regatta.
In the 2013-14 season, Tulsa’s Lightweight 8+ finished second in the Petite Final at the IRA National Championship, the Varsity 4+ won a silver medal at the Conference USA Championship and the Hurricane went on to finish fourth in the league, the Varsity 8+ won the Lawless Cup and TU medaled four boats at the Knecht Cup.
During the 2012-13 campaign, the Golden Hurricane’s Lightweight 8+ recorded a third-place finish at the Dad Vail Regatta and Knecht Cup, while the Lightweight 4+ also earned a bronze medal at the Knecht Cup. Amy Nelson was named to the CRCA South All-Region team.
In the 2011-12 season, TU’s Lightweight 8+ won their event at the Head of the Hooch, while the Lightweight 2x and Novice 4+ captured top finishes at the Head of the Oklahoma. Stephanie Rogers was named as a CRCA All-American, the first for TU in program history.
During the 2010-11 campaign, Tulsa earned a sixth-place finish in the Lightweight 4+ at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship, medaled its first-ever boat at the Conference USA Championship as the Varsity 4+ picked up a bronze medal, and medaled all five boats at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association to tie for the women’s team trophy.
In the 2009-10 season, the Golden Hurricane captured the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association women’s team title, competed in the inaugural Conference USA Championship, finishing fifth overall, and earned seven medals at the USRowing Collegiate Championship.
During the 2008-09 campaign, TU claimed its third straight Midwest Intercollegiate Rowing Championship, but this time it was at home on the Verdigris River in Catoosa, Okla. Tulsa captured top marks in the Novice 4+, Varsity 8+ and Second Varsity 8+, and second-place finishes in the Varsity 4+ and Novice 8+ for the MIRC title.
Harris led Tulsa to its first-ever appearance at the 2008 IRA Championships, where the Golden Hurricane’s Lightweight 4+ claimed a fifth-place finish. Tulsa also earned its second straight MIRC team title.
In the 2006-07 season, Harris coached the Tulsa rowers to wins in the Varsity 2-, Lightweight 4+, Varsity 4+, Novice 8+ and 2nd Varsity 8+ at the Midwest Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta to capture the MIRC team championship.
In the 2005 fall campaign, the Club 4+ and Championship 4+ crews earned fifth- and 12th-place marks at the Head of the Charles Regatta.
In 2004-05, Tulsa registered one of the biggest victories in the program's history with a first-place finish in the Club 4+ race at the Head of the Charles Regatta.
During the 2003-04 season, TU finished ninth among 54 boats at the Head of the Charles in the Club 4+ event.
In his first season at Tulsa in 2002-03, the Golden Hurricane competed in 10 regattas, posted four first-place finishes and medaled 23 boats.
Not only has Harris been instrumental in developing a highly competitive team, but he has been the driving force behind the construction of the Tulsa rowing facilities. The Jack Zink Indoor Rowing Center, completed in March of 2006, is a state-of-the-art rowing center that is housed within TU's Mabee Gymnasium and features an indoor rowing tank, an ergometer room capable of supporting the entire team practicing at one time, locker rooms and coaches offices.
In addition to the indoor practice facility, the 5,000-square foot J. Bird Sr. Shell Nest was completed in January 2007. The boathouse is the first boat storage facility specifically dedicated to the needs of the varsity rowers at TU. It is located on the Verdigris River and sports a natural setting of 18 miles distance for practice.
Before arriving at Tulsa, Harris was the first assistant coach at Kansas State from 1999-2002. During his tenure at KSU, he coached the novice crews and recorded victories over Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-10 rivals. He was also responsible for recruiting over 20 student-athletes to Kansas State. It was during Harris' time in Manhattan that the KSU squad garnered the school's first top-25 ranking in the 2002 CRCA National Poll.
From 1997-99, Harris was head coach at NCAA Division III Mills College in Oakland, Calif. In Harris' first year, he guided the Cyclones to their first-ever NCAA Championship appearance at the 1998 National Collegiate Women's Rowing Championships, becoming the first African-American coach to take a crew to the NCAAs. Mills finished 15th in the Varsity 4+, which was the school’s first appearance in any sport at an NCAA Championship.
Harris began his collegiate coaching career at NCAA Division III Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. As the novice coach, Harris' crews won two straight Seven Sister's Championships and numerous duel races against New England rivals. In 1997, the novice crews contributed to Mount Holyoke winning the New England Women's 8+ Conference Championship, while also winning a New England Championship in the Second Novice 8+.
From 1991-95, Harris coached top high school crews in the Washington Metropolitan Area. As head coach at Yorktown High School, his crews recorded top finishes at the Stotesbury Cup and the SRA National Championships in the Varsity 8+ and Lightweight 8+ categories. In 1995, as head coach of the Potomac Boat Club Women's Crew, his Junior 8+ finished first at the Canadian Henley Regatta.
The winner of the U19 Women’s 8+ event at the Royal Canadian Henley is annually awarded the Harris/Fisher Trophy, named for Coach Harris.
Harris has also served as a member of the United States Rowing Association Junior Women's Committee from 1994-98, and in 1999-2000 coached the Junior National Team Development Camps for the West Region. He is in his second stint of serving on the CRCA Board of Directors, as he previously served from 1998-2000. Harris holds a USRA Level III Coaching Certification.
Harris earned his bachelor's degree in history from George Washington University in 1992 and received a master's of education in 1997 from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Harris married the former Jennifer Busch in 2002. Jennifer received her doctoral degree in biology at TU in December 2006 and is a petroleum microbiologist with ConocoPhillips. The couple have two daughters: Victoria and Alexandra.
