Bernard Gaither was named Associate Head Coach of Bethune-Cookman Track & Field in August of 2023.
Gaither joins the Wildcats after seven seasons at the helm of USC-Beaufort's Track & Field and Cross Country. He joined USCB in 2012 when he was first hired as a part-time assistant coach for the programs. He was moved to the head coaching role in August 2016).
The 2021-22 season was one of his most successful campaigns of his career where he saw eight national individual qualifiers for the NAIA National Championships. He also led both track and field programs to runner-up honors in both the indoor and outdoor Sun Conference Championships (first-ever indoor SUN Championship). In fact, the second-place finish for the women marked the fourth straight year (no outdoor championship in 2020-21) to finish runner-up or better (victories in 2017 and 2018).
The three-time Sun Conference Coach of the Year had been the league’s track and field chair since 2020. He was also a member of the NAIA Indoor National Games Committee from 2017-21 and the chair from 2019-21.
He guided the USCB women’s track and field programs to their highest NAIA rankings at the end of year in 2017 (13th in nation) and 2018 (19th in nation), and he brought in USCB’s largest recruiting class in program history in just his first year as head coach.
Gaither holds USATF Level 2 certifications in Sprints Hurdles, Jumps, Combined Events, Distance as well as USATF Level 3/ IAAF Level 5 certifications.
While also serving as a part-time coaching from 2012-16, Gaither was the head coach for cross country, track and field, and football at New Hampstead High School in Bloomingdale, Ga. Prior to his time at NHHS, Gaither was the head track and field coach at Groves High School from 2009-12.
While in college, Gaither competed in track and field and cross country for two years at Maryland Eastern Shore and two years at Towson. He is a school record holder at Towson.
A veteran of the U.S. Army, Gaither earned his undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Physical Education from Towson University in 2000 and received a Master of Education from Armstrong State University in 2006.
