Matthew Boone joined the UC Riverside Track & Field coaching staff in October of 2025.
Boone, who comes to UCR with a wealth of track & field and cross country coaching experience, will oversee throwers.
Boone most recently served two years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Tulane, where he was instrumental in the Green Wave’s two American Athletic Conference cross country titles and one indoor track title. He was in charge of the women’s and men’s throws and pole vault event groups in New Orleans and produced 11 top-10 performances across five events (five indoor, six outdoor).
Prior to Tulane, Boone spent a year and a half as the head track & field and cross country coach at Jacksonville State. Boone, also the vice chair of the ASUN Track and Cross Country Coaches Committee at the time, held multifaceted leadership in women’s horizontal and vertical jumps, multis, throws, sprints, hurdles, and relays. He also oversaw women’s and men’s cross country and women’s distance.
Operationally, Boone redesigned Jacksonville State’s cross country course utilized for home competition and oversaw social media in partnership with JSU sports information. He also administered the program’s first sanctioned joint boys and girls high school cross country meet.
Jacksonville State saw 20 top-10 performers across 13 events under Boone’s watch, along with three school record holders. In the classroom, JSU enjoyed significant improvement in its men’s cross country GPA and women’s track & field APR.
Boone was elevated to head coach at JSU from assistant coach, when he churned out 27 top-10 performers across 13 events and six record holders.
Boone got his start in college as an assistant coach at Mississippi State, where he assisted with men’s and women’s jumps and multis under jumps specialist Steve Thomas. While in Starkville, Boone assisted in implementing training plans for multiple indoor and outdoor national qualifiers, all-Americans, and all-SEC student-athletes.
Boone began his coaching career at Lawton Chiles High School in Tallahassee, Florida, leading Chiles to the 2018 Boys 3A, Region 1, and District 3 titles.
He holds USTFCCCA coaching certifications in jumps and throws, and earned his Level 1 coaching certification from USA Track & Field in 2016.
Boone holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Florida State and a master’s in exercise physiology from Mississippi State. He was a four-year member of the Seminoles’ track & field team and a two-time Academic All-ACC honoree while serving on FSU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council and Athletics Board.
