Harnden promoted to lead Auburn track and field program
Auburn turned to a familiar face to lead one of the nation's premier track and field programs Monday, promoting assistant head coach Ken Harnden to head coach following the departure of Leroy Burrell to Texas A&M.
Harnden has been one of the driving forces behind Auburn's resurgence since arriving on the Plains in 2022. A two-time Olympian and one of the sport's most decorated sprint coaches, he helped transform the Tigers into a national contender, guiding Auburn to four consecutive NCAA Championship trophies while developing some of the country's elite sprinters and hurdlers.
Athletics director John Cohen said Harnden earned the opportunity through both his results and his ability to develop student-athletes.
"Coach Harnden earned the opportunity to lead Auburn's track and field program by developing elite student-athletes and delivering exceptional results throughout his career, especially the past four seasons on the Plains," Cohen said. "Under Coach Harnden's leadership, Auburn track and field is positioned to continue to excel on the national stage."
Harnden said he is grateful for the opportunity and credited Auburn's administration for its confidence in him.
"I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to lead the Auburn track and field program," Harnden said in a statement released by the university.
The promotion comes after one of the most successful stretches in school history.
Under Harnden's guidance, Auburn sprinters have captured six individual NCAA championships, two relay national titles and six SEC championships. The impact has been even more striking in championship competition. Of the men's 168 points scored by Auburn at the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships during Harnden's four seasons, athletes under his direction accounted for 161 — roughly 96 percent of the total.
This past season only strengthened his résumé.
Harnden coached Ja'Kobe Tharp to one of the greatest individual seasons in NCAA history. Tharp swept NCAA indoor and outdoor hurdle titles and shattered the world record in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 12.75 during the NCAA Outdoor Championships, becoming the first athlete to set a world record at the meet in 50 years. Harnden also coached Kayinsola Ajayi to NCAA sprint titles while Auburn continued its rise among the nation's elite programs.
Across more than two decades as a Division I coach, Harnden has helped produce 31 individual NCAA champions, four relay national champions, more than 200 first-team All-Americans and 24 Olympians while serving on staffs that won five NCAA team championships. He has also been recognized as the USTFCCCA National Assistant Coach of the Year eight times.
Rather than looking outside the program, Auburn opted for continuity, handing the reins to the coach most responsible for the Tigers' recent dominance on the track. After helping build one of college track's premier sprint programs, Harnden will now be charged with leading the entire program as Auburn looks to remain among the nation's elite.
