Rice University Athletics
Hall of Fame Coach Jim Bevan Announces Retirement
3/10/2026 2:34:00 PM | Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
40 years of developing champions
Houston--Jim Bevan, a fixture at Rice for 40 years as he built a Hall of Fame career guiding the fortunes of Rice's women's cross country and track & field programs, announced on Tuesday that he will retire at the end of the 2026 spring season.
"Coach Jim Bevan represents the very best of Rice University and Rice Athletics. For four decades, he has built a women's cross country and track & field program defined by sustained excellence, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to developing young women into champions on the field and in the classroom," Rice Vice President and Director of Athletics Tommy McClelland said. "On behalf of Rice Athletics and the entire Owl community, we are profoundly grateful for Coach Bevan's leadership and congratulate him on a remarkable career. He has forever shaped our program, and his legacy will continue to inspire future generations of Owls."
"I am truly blessed to have had such an incredible career here at Rice University," said Bevan. "It has been an honor to work with the best student-athletes in the world and to watch them develop into amazing athletes and people, and I am grateful to have been entrusted with caring for these incredible people all these years. I am thankful for all the student-athletes, assistant coaches, and administrators I've had the privilege of working with over my time here at Rice.
"I am extremely grateful to Victor Lopez for giving me a chance, bringing me here, and mentoring and shaping me into the coach I am today. I would not be here without Victor's guidance; he made this all happen. Rice is truly a special place, and it is bittersweet to leave, but I am looking forward to seeing the women's track and field and cross-country program continue to succeed and achieve at a high level," Bevan stated.
Initially, as an assistant under fellow Hall of Famer Victor Lopez, focusing on jumps and distance, and then as head coach after succeeding Lopez in 2005, Bevan's student-athletes have made their mark at the conference, national, and international level while also setting standards in the classroom.
He has coached over 175 event winners at conference championships spanning the Southwest, Western Athletic, Conference USA, and the American Conference and captured 23 team titles. In 1994, his team's victory at the Southwest Conference Cross Country championship was the only team title Rice won in women's athletics in the conference.
On the national stage, his student-athletes have earned over 75 All-American honors, helping the Owls finish in the top 25 at the NCAA Outdoor Championship 14 times and at the NCAA Indoor Championship 11 times.
Internationally, four of his Owls have represented their countries at the Olympic Games (Funmi Jimoh, 2008; Lenny Waite, 2016; Ari Ince, 2021; and Erna Gunnarsdottir, 2024).
He has been recognized by his fellow conference coaches 14 times as the Coach of the Year and twice honored as the South Central Region Coach of the Year in Cross Country.
Seven of his student-athletes have won the Joyce Pounds Hardy Award as Rice's top female student-athlete. He was honored by Rice President David Leebron in 2017 with the Elizabeth Gillis Award for Exemplary Service, which recognizes Rice staff members who demonstrate unflagging commitment and service to the university.
He was inducted into the Rice Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017, the same year his alma mater (Adams State) inducted him into its Hall of Fame. In 2025, he was inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame.
"Coach Jim Bevan represents the very best of Rice University and Rice Athletics. For four decades, he has built a women's cross country and track & field program defined by sustained excellence, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to developing young women into champions on the field and in the classroom," Rice Vice President and Director of Athletics Tommy McClelland said. "On behalf of Rice Athletics and the entire Owl community, we are profoundly grateful for Coach Bevan's leadership and congratulate him on a remarkable career. He has forever shaped our program, and his legacy will continue to inspire future generations of Owls."
"I am truly blessed to have had such an incredible career here at Rice University," said Bevan. "It has been an honor to work with the best student-athletes in the world and to watch them develop into amazing athletes and people, and I am grateful to have been entrusted with caring for these incredible people all these years. I am thankful for all the student-athletes, assistant coaches, and administrators I've had the privilege of working with over my time here at Rice.
"I am extremely grateful to Victor Lopez for giving me a chance, bringing me here, and mentoring and shaping me into the coach I am today. I would not be here without Victor's guidance; he made this all happen. Rice is truly a special place, and it is bittersweet to leave, but I am looking forward to seeing the women's track and field and cross-country program continue to succeed and achieve at a high level," Bevan stated.
Initially, as an assistant under fellow Hall of Famer Victor Lopez, focusing on jumps and distance, and then as head coach after succeeding Lopez in 2005, Bevan's student-athletes have made their mark at the conference, national, and international level while also setting standards in the classroom.
He has coached over 175 event winners at conference championships spanning the Southwest, Western Athletic, Conference USA, and the American Conference and captured 23 team titles. In 1994, his team's victory at the Southwest Conference Cross Country championship was the only team title Rice won in women's athletics in the conference.
On the national stage, his student-athletes have earned over 75 All-American honors, helping the Owls finish in the top 25 at the NCAA Outdoor Championship 14 times and at the NCAA Indoor Championship 11 times.
Internationally, four of his Owls have represented their countries at the Olympic Games (Funmi Jimoh, 2008; Lenny Waite, 2016; Ari Ince, 2021; and Erna Gunnarsdottir, 2024).
He has been recognized by his fellow conference coaches 14 times as the Coach of the Year and twice honored as the South Central Region Coach of the Year in Cross Country.
Seven of his student-athletes have won the Joyce Pounds Hardy Award as Rice's top female student-athlete. He was honored by Rice President David Leebron in 2017 with the Elizabeth Gillis Award for Exemplary Service, which recognizes Rice staff members who demonstrate unflagging commitment and service to the university.
He was inducted into the Rice Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017, the same year his alma mater (Adams State) inducted him into its Hall of Fame. In 2025, he was inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame.
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