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Western Illinois University Athletics

BogdanMircea

Mircea Bogdan

"We are truly excited that Mircea  has joined our staff.  He brings an unbelievable amount of both coaching and competitive experience to our program," said head coach Mike Stevenson. "As an NCAA Champion and Olympian, he brings an unparalleled history to our program.  He has seen a side of track and field and cross country that few get to see, and these experiences can take our team and staff to a new level.  Through his coaching experiences he has also worked with programs of our size and understands how to be successful at the mid major level.  Our entire program took a big step forward when Mircea accepted this position."

Bogdan has spent the past year as a volunteer assistant coach at Loyola University where he worked with the men's distance programs. The Romania native assisted with the training of 1500-meter All-American Sam Penzenstadler, as well as three Missouri Valley Conference champions.

"I am very excited and thankful to have been given the opportunity to coach at such a prestigious institution. I look forward to work with Mike Stevenson and the rest of the coaching staff and the current and future athlete in achieving the success this school is capable of," said Bogdan. "My goal is to help build a team that embraces hard work, commitment and success, and fights for everything an NCAA Division I athlete should fight for, such as conference titles and NCAA All-America status. As challenging and as far as our goals seem to be right now, things will not stay the same in the months and years to come."
 
Bogdan also brings international coaching experience, as he was the head coach of the women's distance program for the Adidas Boulder Wave-Romania team where he coached two Romanian national champions in the half marathon.
 
While working towards his master's degree in education, Bogdan was the graduate assistant coach at Saint Francis University where he coached the men's indoor track team to the 2009 Northeast Conference title. Bogdan also coached several athletes to NEC individual conference titles.
 
Bogdan also boasts several individual accomplishments of his own as an athlete at the University of Texas at El Paso, as he was the 2005 NCAA Division I Champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 8:27.23. One of the top distance runners from Romania to compete at the Division I level, Bogdan owns the distinction of being the only athlete from Romania to win an NCAA title in both cross country and track. He also helped the Miners to a seventh-place finish at the 2006 Outdoor NCAA Division I Championships. After completing his NCAA eligibility, Bodgan was a student assistant for the UTEP men's and women's distance programs. In 2008, he qualified for the Beijing Olympics for Romania in the steeplechase.