Gina Procaccio Position: Head Coach Season: Eighth

Entering her eighth year at the helm, head coach Gina Procaccio is the first female to hold the position and sixth head coach overall in the history of the program. A former Wildcat and assistant coach herself, she is familiar with the historic success of Villanova Track & Field. With national and international success to her credit, Procaccio brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to not only sustain the winning tradition but to propel the Wildcats to new heights.

During her 13 years as both an assistant and a head coach at 'Nova, she has guided over a dozen athletes to succeed on the national level. Procaccio's distance runners have earned five individual NCAA championships. Her 1994 and 1998 cross country teams both won NCAA championships, and the 2006 distance medley relay team placed first at the prestigious Penn Relays after a nine-year drought.

Procaccio has coached her athletes to nine NCAA individual championships, as well as 53 All-American honors. She has guided her team to indoor and outdoor BIG EAST Championships, and in addition to team titles, Procaccio has steered her athletes to 44 individual BIG EAST titles.

The 2006 cross country season saw Procaccio guide Frances Koons to BIG EAST and NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional titles. Koons was also named Mid-Atlantic Regional Athlete of the Year.

The 2007 track and field season produced four BIG EAST indoor titles along with one conference outdoor title. Akilah Vargas earned a trip to the NCAA Championships in the 1500m, while also clinching BIG EAST titles in the 800m in indoor and outdoor. Frances Koons was named Indoor Track Athlete of the Year for both the BIG EAST and Mid-Atlantic Region. Under Procaccio, Koons won the mile, 1000m, and ran a leg on the winning 4x800m squad the the BIG EAST Indoor Championships.

A 1987 graduate of Villanova, Procaccio made her mark on Villanova's record book despite only one year of running after transferring from the University of Florida. In her senior season on the Main Line, she placed fifth at the NCAAs in the 1,000m, and she helped set collegiate, American and world records as part of the 3,200m relay (8:24.77) and distance medley relay (11:00.76) teams.

After her Villanova career, Procaccio ran successfully in national and international competition. She placed fifth in the 1992 United States Olympic Trials in the 1,500m run and third at the U. S. Cross Country Championships that same year. In 1993, Procaccio earned a spot on the U.S. World Championship team in the 1,500m with a third place finish at the USA Track & Field Championships.

In the summer of 1995, Procaccio was the USA National Champion in the 5,000m and qualified for the final in the event at the World Championships in Goteberg, Sweden. She finished the 1995 season with U.S. rankings of No. 1, 2 and 5 in the 3,000m, 5,000m and 1,500m respectively.

Prior to assistant coaching at Villanova from 1994-97 and 1998-00, she served for one year (1987-88) as a graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee and one year (1990-91) as an assistant coach at Georgetown University.