TOLEDO, Ohio – University of Toledo Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Andrea Grove-McDonough has signed a contract through the 2026 season, Vice President and Director of Athletics Bryan B. Blair announced today.

Grove-McDonough was named Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year for the second year in a row in 2022. Her women's cross country team won Mid-American Conference Championships in 2021 and 2022.

"We are very pleased to sign Coach Grove-McDonough to this new contract," said Blair. "Andrea has led our cross country and women's track & field programs to unprecedented levels of success and has built a women's cross program that is not only a powerhouse in the Mid-American Conference but is also competitive among the very best teams in the nation. Andrea is a great leader and mentor of the young women and men in her program. We are fortunate to have her guide our cross country and track and field programs for many years to come."

"I am so excited and appreciative for the support and confidence everyone at The University of Toledo has shown in me from the moment I walked on campus," Grove-McDonough said. "I am grateful for the continued confidence Bryan Blair and President (Gregory) Postel have shown me. I promised championships when I was hired, and I will continue to hold myself, our program, and our staff to that high standard. The success is also a direct reflection of so many of the great support staff we have here at UT. It's truly a team effort.

"Most importantly, none of this is possible without the tremendous student-athletes who represent us in athletic competition, in the classroom and our community. I am grateful to each and every one of them."

Grove-McDonough, in her fourth year leading the Toledo cross country and track & field programs, has mentored the Rockets to unprecedented success. In addition to winning back-to-back MAC titles, the women's cross country team finished sixth at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Meet in 2022, earning its first appearance to the NCAA Championship Meet since 2014. The men's cross country team was runner-up at the 2021 and 2022 MAC Championship Meets, the highest finishes in school history. The Rockets ended their season with a program-best ninth-place finish at the 2022 NCAA Regionals.

On the track, Grove-McDonough has helped guide her team to a fourth-place finish at the 2022 MAC Indoor Championship Meet, the second-best finish in school history. Four Rockets have qualified for the NCAA Championships during Grove-McDonough's tenure, while 10 have competed at the NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Regionals. Stephanie Sherman earned All-America honors in the 10,000m at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships.