• Sport Home
• |
• Roster
• |
• Schedule
• |
• Stats 
• |
• Archives

Karen Boyle Position: Head Coach Experience: 23rd year Alma Mater: Bowling Green '79

Karen Boyle has enjoyed much success during her 22 years as Navy's head coach, guiding her teams to a 117-19 (.860) mark over her career, including three-straight undefeated seasons in dual-scored meets (16-0).

At the helm in 2008, she guided the Midshipmen to one of their finest years in program history. Navy won the Patriot League title for the second-straight year and the first time outright in school history with an impressive team score of 23 points - the lowest mark since the league expanded to eight teams. The Mids went on to finish seventh at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Championship and had one of their own - Amy Watson - compete at the NCAA Championship.

Watson became the fifth Navy runner to compete at the NCAA Division I Championship during Boyle's tenure. Boyle's first national championship qualifier came in 1992 with Kerry O'Neill, followed by Jackie Hayes in 1995, Rebecca Cline in 1997 and Melissa Foon in 2000.

Even without the services of Watson in the Star Meet against Army this past fall, Boyle coached the Midshipmen to a convincing 15-48 win - the largest margin of victory in series history. It was Navy's third-straight N-Star victory over Army and improved her career record to 14-8 (.636) against its service academy foe.

Boyle has led the Mids to significant honors on both the Division II (1987-1990) and Division I (1991-present) levels. In Navy's last-four years of Division II competition, Boyle coached the Mids to four-straight undefeated seasons and top-five finishes in the NCAA Division II Championship, with five runners garnering All-America honors. Boyle was named Eastern Region Coach of the Year in three-straight seasons (1988-90).

Boyle guided the program into the Division I ranks in 1991, and the Mids immediately achieved success by capturing the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship.

In 1997, Boyle was named Navy's Fall Coach of the Year after she led Navy to an undefeated season.

As a coach with the track team, she guided Marty Shue to a title in the indoor 1,500-meter run at the NCAA Championship.

In 1995, Boyle was selected as team leader for the USA Ekiden International Marathon in Beijing, China. She was also selected to help rewrite the level I track & field certification curriculum at the USA Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. In 1999, she received her C.S.C.S. certification as a nationally accredited certified strength and conditioning specialist. The summer of 2001 saw Boyle serve as an assistant track & field coach for Team USA in the Deaf Track & Field World Games, held in Rome, Italy.

Boyle, a 1979 graduate of Bowling Green, received her degree in physical education and earned her master's degree in athletic administration and recreation from her alma mater in 1982. Athletically, she competed in both track and lacrosse, specializing in the 400 and 4x400-meter relay on the track and was a leading scorer for the Falcons' lacrosse squad.

Her coaching career began at Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio, where she coached the women's cross country and track & field teams from 1984-86, developing two national champions and nine All-Americans.

Boyle is a tenured professor in the Naval Academy's Physical Education Department, teaching personal conditioning, rock climbing, kayaking and the adventure challenge. Boyle also participates in road races and adventure races and is currently training for the St. Anthony Triathlon.

Administratively, Boyle served as the president of the NCAA Division I Women's Intercollegiate Cross Country Coaches Association (1999-2001), as well as a committee member on the USA Track & Field Coaching Education Board and the United States Track Coaches Association Long Distance Advisory Board. She still serves as a Past President on the NCAA Division I Women's Executive Committee.