John Sauerhage, head coach of cross country, took over the men’s and women’s programs in 1995.
File photo / Mabel Cruz
In April, UTA announced the retirement of longtime cross-country and track and field head coach John Sauerhage, and immediately, its social media accounts were flooded with warm wishes from his former runners and their family members. Yet, when cross-country practice started this week, leading the team was none other than Sauerhage.
Sauerhage will continue running the cross-country program in 2026 while becoming the track and field assistant coach, focusing on long-distance runners.
Sauerhage said he sees managing just long-distance runners as a part-time job compared to the hefty requirements of his former role running what he described as six sports: both men’s and women’s cross-country, as well as indoor and outdoor track and field for both genders.
“I’m just taking a step back from being responsible for the entire program,” Sauerhage said. “I can just coach the distance runners and have a teeny bit more free time than I used to have. It’ll still be a lot of responsibility managing a group of athletes, so I’m looking forward to it.”
When the retirement announcement was made, it seemed the Mavericks’ longest-tenured active head coach was taking a deserved rest. After taking the reins of both the cross-country and track and field programs in 1995, Sauerhage led his programs to 33 conference titles and coached 45 All-Americans and 63 NCAA championship qualifiers.
Brandon Berger, Sauerhage’s second-in-command since 2012 and a former runner of his in the late 90s, was announced in April as his collegiate coach’s successor as track and field head coach.
Sauerhage also said he’s confident in Berger’s ability to run the track and field program. The veteran coach said that in his new assistant role in the spring, he doesn’t plan to challenge his successor on issues but instead be there when advice is needed.
“We’re trying to put a winning track team and cross-country team out on the field, and this is a step in the right direction,” Sauerhage said.
Sauerhage’s cross-country runners said they were glad to see him return, with junior Toby Eaton saying it didn’t entirely surprise him.
“His heart belongs to UTA and to the sport,” Eaton said. “I’m just excited to have him coaching us again this next year.”
On his eventual true retirement, Sauerhage said there’s no date by which he’s specifically thought about hanging up the whistle for good. The Arlington native and Maverick alumnus says he has no plans to leave soon.
“At this point, we’re just going to do this one year at a time and see how it goes,” Sauerhage said. “I’m committed to this year 100%. If they want me back next year, we’ll talk about it later, but right now, my focus is just on getting this cross-country team ready for the conference meet.”
Sauerhage and his team open the season at the John McKenzie Invitational, hosted by Texas Christian University on Sept. 4 in Fort Worth.
@TyRoland06