John Newell joined the Razorback men’s track and field program as a volunteer assistant in the summer of 2022. As an assistant coach in the SEC, Newell developed a talented group of throwers who contributed team points in conference and national meets.
During 2022, Newell had a gold medalist and two bronze medalists at the SEC Outdoor Championships along with two silver medalists at the SEC Indoor Championships. In the national championship meets, a trio of first-team All-America finishes totaled 14 team points between NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships.
In 16 years of coaching experience, Newell has produced three Olympians, 20 conference champions (10 in the Big Ten and 10 in the SEC), along with 28 first-team All-America honors amid a total of 46 All-Americans.
Tavis Bailey (USA, discus) and Steven Mozia (Nigeria, shot put) both competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics while Stamatia Scarvelis (Greece, hammer) competed in the Tokyo Olympics.
Within the 10 SEC titles, Newell’s athletes swept men’s and women’s gold in the shot put at the 2020 SEC Indoor meet. Then in 2021, the women’s SEC shot put titles were swept. Consecutive league titles were claimed in the men’s hammer (2015-2016) and women’s hammer (2018-19).
Newell served as assistant coach with Tennessee from 2013 to 2022 after being at Michigan State from 2007 to 2013. Newell graduated from Georgia in 2005 with a degree in sociology. During his collegiate career with the Bulldogs, he was a six-time NCAA qualifier and earned All-America honors in the shot put at the 2005 indoor championships.
