Steve Patrick begins his 18th year as Cortland's cross country head coach in 2025. Patrick also serves as Cortland's men's and women's track and field head coach - a position he attained in the summer of 2007.
Patrick was named the 2008 Division III Men's Cross Country National Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) after leading the Red Dragons to their first NCAA Division III title. He was also recognized as both the Atlantic Region Coach of the Year and the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Coach of the Year. In addition to leading Cortland's men's cross country team to the national title in 2008, he guided the women's team to a ninth-place national finish - the program's 16th top-10 NCAA showing.
Patrick's men's cross country teams have qualified for nationals six times, and his women's squads have made three national appearances. His men's squads have won three SUNYAC titles and have been runner-up five times, and his women's teams have registered 13 top-three SUNYAC showings, including two titles and three runner-up finishes. Cortland's men and women both claimed SUNYAC crowns in 2024, and Patrick and his assistants were named both the SUNYAC Men's and Women's Cross Country Coaching Staffs of the Year.
In 2014, Cortland finished 19th nationally on the men's side and 26th nationally on the women's side. In 2013, he guided the men to a 13th-place NCAA finish and both the NCAA Atlantic Region and SUNYAC titles. He was chosen as the Atlantic Region Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year for the third time and the SUNYAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year. In 2012, he led the men's cross country team to a 23rd-place NCAA finish and in 2011 he led the men to a 20th-place NCAA finish.
In 2010, he earned SUNYAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year honors after leading the Red Dragons to a conference title. The team also finished 15th at the NCAA Championships. In 2009, Patrick earned his second straight men's Atlantic Region Coach of the Year honor after the Red Dragons repeated as regional champion. The squad went on to finish fifth nationally at the NCAA Division III Championships. Patrick served as an assistant coach in the program in the fall of 2007.
On the track and field side, Patrick has been named USTFCCCA Men's Regional Track and Field Coach of the Year seven times (Atlantic Region outdoors in 2008, 2012 and 2013, Atlantic region indoors in 2016 and 2017, and both Niagara Region indoors and outdoors in 2025), and State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Men's Track and Field Coach of the Year nine times (outdoors in 2008, 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2017, indoors in 2009 and 2016, outdoors Staff of the Year in 2025 and indoors staff of the Year in 2025). He was selected as the SUNYAC Men's Track and Field "Coach of the Decade" for 2010-20. On the women's track and field side, he was named Atlantic Region Indoor Coach of the Year in 2012 and SUNYAC Coach of the Year 10 times (outdoors in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, indoors in 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014, outdoors Staff of the Year in 2025 and indoors staff of the year in 2025).
Patrick's men's track and field squads at Cortland have won nine SUNYAC titles (outdoors in 2008, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2025, and indoors in 2008, 2009, 2016 and 2025). The Red Dragons finished second nationally at the 2008 NCAA Division III outdoor championships, placed fifth nationally indoors in 2025, tied for fifth outdoors in 2017, tied for eighth indoors in 2008, placed ninth indoors in 2017, tied for 10th outdoors in 2016 and tied for 13th outdoors in 2025. They also won the 2013 ECAC indoor crown, tied for second at the ECAC indoor meet in 2015, and finished second at the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) Championships twice indoors (2020 and 2023) and once outdoors (2025).
The men's teams under Patrick boast eight national titles - Amaan Siddeeq in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes outdoors in 2008, Jake Zanetti in the pole vault outdoors in 2009, Nick Vachon in the high jump outdoors in 2016, Jack Flood in the heptathlon (indoors) and decathlon (outdoors) in 2017, Amarian Hughes in the indoor triple jump in 2025 and the 4x400-meter relay team of Evan Jensen, Zion Cheatham, Harrison Gavalas and Josh Jeffes indoors in 2025. In addition, Melique Garcia was the national runner-up in the 200-meter dash at the 2015 NCAA indoor championships, Mitch Couch was national runner-up in the hammer throw during the 2017 outdoor nationals, Micah Assibey-Bonsu finished second in the triple jump at the 2019 indoor nationals and Isaiah Brunache was runner-up in the shot put at both the 2023 and 2025 outdoor nationals.
Patrick's women's track and field teams have won nine SUNYAC titles (outdoors in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2025, and indoors in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2025) and have placed in the top six at the ECAC Championships four times. His teams have included indoor national high jump runners-up Aubrianna Lantrip (2021), Taylor Hudson (2015) and Kristen Serikstad (2009).
Patrick served as an assistant track and field coach for the Red Dragons from 2004-07 and was a lecturer in the College’s physical education department. Among his responsibilities was coaching Cortland’s hurdlers, including 2007 NCAA Division III women’s 100-meter hurdles and heptathlon champion Christina Acquaviva.
Previously, Patrick was an assistant track and field coach at Ithaca College from 2002-04 and an assistant cross country coach at Cortland in the fall of 2003. Prior to those duties, he was the track and field head coach and an assistant coach for the cross country programs at SUNY Cobleskill from 2000-02. He also coached Cobleskill’s men’s soccer team in 2001.
While at Cobleskill, Patrick coached eight National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III national champions and 17 NJCAA Division III All-Americans. Patrick was also a track and field and cross country assistant coach at Cortland in the 1999-2000 school year.
Patrick competed in cross country and track and field for four seasons at Cortland, competing in the NCAA Division III Championships in 1993. Patrick is a 1997 graduate of Cortland, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education. In 2000, Patrick earned a master’s degree in exercise physiology from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.
A native of Batavia, N.Y., Patrick and his wife, Marissa '97, M '00, have two sons, Daniel and Kyler. Daniel is a 2024 Cortland alumnus and a former Red Dragon distance runner.
