Daniel Caulfield – the 2015 and 2018 PSAC Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year – enters his 10th season as the head coach for the Cal U track & field programs, while also beginning his 17th season as head coach of the cross country programs.
Caulfield has mentored a combined 23 NCAA All-Americans during his tenure with the Vulcans in cross country and track & field with All-America honorees in the 800m, 1500m, 1 mile, 3K, 5K, 10K and the steeplechase. Additionally, the programs have combined for 18 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans over the last decade, plus the only CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year in school history. Caulfield has also coached three Cal U student-athletes that were selected to compete at the USATF National Championships (Christopher Clark 3K-7:58; Aaron Dinzeo 10K-28:40; Julie Friend steeplechase-10:04).
In recent years, Caulfield has led the women’s cross county program to unprecedented success while at the NCAA Division II level. The Vulcans earned a team qualifier for the NCAA National Championships three times in four years from 2015-18, highlighted by winning the 2015 regional title. Overall, Cal U was represented at the national race in six consecutive years, as the program featured an individual qualifier in 2013, 2014 and 2016.
The Vulcans have won 60 league titles in 18 different events in track & field at the PSAC Championships since Caulfield became head coach in 2014. Last winter, the women’s track & field captured the school’s first-ever trophy in track & field by finishing second at the PSAC Championships. The Vulcans then claimed five league titles during the outdoor championships and finished fourth in the team standings after scoring in 10 events. On the men’s side, Cal U featured the Field Athlete of the Year for the first time in school history following the 2022 indoor season.
Caulfield has directly coached five separate athletes that have combined to break three all-time PSAC records and set two PSAC Championships records, plus receive PSAC Athlete of the Year and Outstanding Athlete and/or Outstanding Track Athlete of the league championships honors 14 times.
Additionally, Caulfield has coached the school’s last two recipients of the Pete Nevins PSAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award (Aaron Dinzeo 2015, Alicia Belko 2019). The prestigious honor is selected by the league’s sports information directors and candidates must have achieved at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA, compete at an outstanding athletic level and have been selected to either the Fall, Winter or Spring Top 10.
Prior to Cal U, Caulfield previously served as the head men’s and women’s track & field and cross country coach at Clarion. He started coaching at his alma mater Adams State in Alamosa, Colorado. As a coach, he helped the Grizzlies capture multiple National Championships, including a sweep of the men's and women's cross country titles in 1998 and 2003, before leaving Colorado in 2004.
Caulfield was a 10-time All-American and a four-time National Champion during his college career while competing at both the NAIA and NCAA levels. He helped the Grizzlies capture the 1992 NAIA National Championship in indoor track & field before winning back-to-back NCAA National Championships in 1993 and 1994, plus set the indoor school record in the 800 meters. Caulfield was named to the inaugural RMAC All-Time Men’s Cross Country Team in 2009 before being inducted into the Adams State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017. This summer, he was also inducted in to the RMAC Hall of Fame at a banquet in Colorado.
A native of Ireland, Caulfield immigrated to the United States at the age of 13 and attended John F. Kennedy High School in the Bronx, a borough of New York City. At Adams State, he earned his bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology and returned to Adams State in 1998 to complete his master’s degree.
Caulfield held the Irish indoor national record in the 800 meters with a time of 1:47.21 for over a decade. He also ranked among the top 50 in the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World rankings. Caulfield was a European Cup champion in both the 800 and 1,500 meters and was the runner-up at the Millrose Games in Madison Square Garden twice.
He and his wife Jackie, a former longtime assistant coach for the Vulcans, reside in California with their daughter, Ellie.
