One man. Four teams. Leading the Augusta University cross country teams to conference, regional, and national recognition, Adam Ward expanded his commitment to the department by accepting the head coaching role for men’s and women’s outdoor track & field and when the programs began in 2013. Ward is one of the most tenured coaches in Augusta as he enters his 16th season in 2019-20.

In June, 2012, Augusta University Athletics announced the establishment of women’s and men’s outdoor track & field programs, which are both coached by Ward.

The Jaguars had 12 student-athletes earn All-Conference honors in 2019 for women’s and men’s track & field, while setting seven new school records. The 2019 men’s team saw Leke Adeleye and Noah Hulett earn PBC Track Athlete of the Week awards as well. Augusta’s track teams combined for 11 Peach Belt All-Conference honors and five All-Region accolades in 2018. In 2017, Ward led 12 Jaguars to All-Conference honors and seven to NCAA All-Region. Both the men’s and women’s teams finished top 10 in the region rankings in 2018 and 2017.

The 2015-16 season saw Ward’s squad compete as Augusta University for the first time. The Jaguar men and women combined for 11 top-10 finishes, six top-five places, and combined for seven on the PBC All-Academic Team. Levonta Reddick was named the Peach Belt Conference Track Athlete of the Week on March 22, 2016, while Kiana Kelly was named the Female Freshman of the Year at the Augusta University Athletics Awards Banquet. It was second-consecutive FFOTY award for women’s track and field.

In their third full year of competition in 2014-15, the men's track team earned their first national ranking ever with No. 28 by USTFCCCA. Sean-Michael Rand was named PBC Freshman of the Year and the team posted the best finish ever at PBC Championships (4^th). The Jags set 13 school records and three were named PBC All-Academic.

In the women's third year in 2015, they finished in the top 10 in all six regular-season meets and took sixth at PBC Championship. The ladies set 14 school records over the year and three were named PBC All-Academic.

In 2013, Ward assembled the first outdoor track & field team that the university had ever witnessed. The Jaguars booked eight meets in their inaugural season, facing off against Division-I titans like the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Duke, and Clemson. The Jaguar men took sixth at the Peach Belt Conference Championships and the women eighth.

On April 16, 2013, Jaguar runner Jaiden Brandt earned All-Region honors by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Ward’s commitment to the program helped lead Dustin Ross to the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Pueblo, Colo., on May 23.

A 2001 graduate of Murray State University with a B.S. in Exercise Science, Ward served as a volunteer assistant coach with the Jaguar cross country program in 2003. He assisted the Murray State cross country program in a similar role in 2001. He is a USA Track and Field Level II certified coach. Ward earned his master’s degree in Health & Physical Education from Augusta State in 2005.

Ward is a former president of the local running club Augusta Striders and as an at-large member of the Augusta Sports Council Events and Planning Committee, he was involved in the design of the course for the Augusta Chronicle Half-Marathon that was first staged in October, 2008.

A former Peach Belt Conference representative to the USTFCCCA (U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) on the DII Executive Council, Ward is also an at-large member of the USTFCCCA Division II Awards Committee.

He is married to the former Ashlynn Young of Augusta, Ga. They are the parents of a son, Carter, and a daughter, Mary Blake.