From NYU Athletics
Michael Roberts has been hired as New York University's Associate Head Coach of the men's and women's track & field and cross country teams.
He will be working with Head Coach Tyler Deck Shipley in all facets of the program, with an emphasis on sprints, jumps and hurdles.
"After an extensive search in an effort to find the best fit for our program, we're really excited to welcome Michael aboard," Deck Shipley said. "He brings tons of energy, passion and confidence in what we can accomplish at NYU. His background of being a successful head coach at Northwood, coupled with his time leading a strong sprints, jumps and hurdles group at Army, will allow him to transition smoothly to NYU. The track program is in great hands and I'm thrilled to move forward with Michael."
Roberts joins NYU after one season as an assistant coach at West Point. While there, he mentored Justin Young, a 400h qualifier for the 2022 Outdoor Toyota Olympic who set the service academy record in the event and earned All-America honors at the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor National Championships.
Prior to his year at Army, Roberts served seven seasons as Head Coach of the men's and women's track & field and cross country programs at Northwood University (MI). During his tenure, the Timberwolves set 21 school records and had 20 NCAA Division II First Team All-Americans. Roberts also served as a member of the USTFCCCA DII Track & Field Executive Committee.
During the 2020-21 season, Roberts guided Mason Phillips and Xzavia Price to the 2021 NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships. Phillips placed second in both the 60m and 200m while Price took fifth in the 60m as Northwood posted an 11th-place team finish. In 2019, the squad finished 13th and Roberts was named the Northwood University Coach of the Year. He coached the 2020 Indoor National Athlete of the Year Runner-Up (Phillips), as well as Rami Gharsalli, who was named the 2017 NCAA Men's Indoor National Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was a two-time Google Cloud Academic All-American (2018 & 2019).
Before his time at Northwood, Roberts spent two years as the Assistant Sprint Coach for Indiana State University. While with the Sycamores, Roberts helped Katie Wise qualify for the USA Championships and the NACAC Championships in the 100m. He also guided Wise to an NCAA Indoor All-American fifth-place finish in the 60m. During the 2013-14 season, Roberts led nine Sycamores to the NCAA Outdoor National Championships. Overall, he coached 21 Indiana State student-athletes to the NCAA East Preliminary Round and coached 14 athletes to all-conference indoor and outdoor titles in the sprints, hurdles and relays at the MVC Championships.
"I'm extremely excited to be at NYU and to help coach these programs," Roberts said. "I bring a passion and commitment which I hope to instill in our student-athletes so that they can reach their potential both academically and athletically."
A 2011 graduate of Indiana State with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science, Roberts added a Master of Science in Physical Education, specializing in coaching, in 2013. A four-year track team member at Indiana State, Roberts was a two-time East Preliminary Round qualifier and a multiple-time All-MVC runner-up in the hurdles. He also served as a team captain.
A USATF Level 1 certified instructor who possesses USTFCCCA Track & Field Technical Certification, Roberts is a native of Indianapolis, Indiana.