University of North Carolina Athletics
Track & Field
- Title:
- Assistant Coach (Sprints/Hurdles/Relays/Jumps)
- Email:
- coach.huddy@unc.edu
- Phone:
- 919-962-5195
Nicole Hudson enters her seventh season as an assistant coach for the University of North Carolina. After serving as a coach for jumps, sprints, hurdles, and relays for five seasons, Hudson focused her efforts on multis and high jump beginning in 2017-18.
After two straight seasons of earning indoor All-America honors, Nicole Greene finally achieved the ultimate goal under the guidance of Coach Hudson — the title of NCAA National Champion. Greene took first in the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championship high jump competition just weeks after claiming her first ACC Indoor title in the event.
In 2016-17, Hudson led Nicole Greene to the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in the high jump. However, this year Greene finished fifth to earn first-team All-America honors. Greene also took second in the high jump at both ACC Championships and moved into the top-five in UNC history in the indoor high jump. Emily Godwin earned first-team All-ACC honors in the high jump by taking third at the indoor conference meet, while Alexis Gannon earned second-team honors in the triple jump. Cierra Dunston (400), Gannon (triple jump), Greene (high jump) and the women's 4x400 (Natisha Dixon, Jewel Christian, Dunston, McKinley McNeill) also qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
During the 2015-16 season, Hudson coached Nicole Greene to second-team All-America honors in the high jump at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships and All-ACC honors during both seasons, as well as a top-five outdoor jump in the UNC record books. Greene just barely missed qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, as she cleared 5-9 ¼ to finish in 13th place. Emily Godwin also earned All-ACC honors and the women’s 4x400 (Natisha Dixon, Jewel Christian, Kendra Douglas, Cierra Dunston) finished in sixth place at the ACC Outdoor Championships with a time of 3:40.22.
In 2014-15, Hudson guided Steve Dunbar to a third-place finish in the men's high jump at the ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships earning All-ACC honors. Hudson also saw freshman Natisha Dixon finish seventh in the 100-meter hurdles at the conference championship while the 4x400 team placed ninth.
During her first season in 2013, Hudson helped guide six jumpers, two sprinters, two hurdlers and one relay to the NCAA East Preliminary with two Tar Heels advancing to the NCAA National Championships. In 2014, Hudson helped multiple Tar Heels reach personal records while guiding Philip Morris and Cori Floyd to the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
Hudson is a native North Carolinian, born in Goldsboro. Throughout her life she has maintained a passion for athletics and education. In high school she was a two-sport athlete for the Harnett Central Trojans, playing basketball and competing in track and field. In her senior season she was selected to the All-Region team in basketball and was the 1988 NC 3A high jump state champion.
Hudson attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a North Carolina Teaching Fellows Scholarship. While at UNC, she majored in mathematics education and was a member of the track and field team. During her collegiate track career she was a four-year letterwinner, a three-time ACC Champion, a two-time All-American and a 1992 Olympic Trials finalist in the heptathlon. She held the ACC record in the heptathlon for 15 years and held the UNC record in the event for 23 years.
After her graduation in 1992, Hudson spent nine years teaching and coaching in Georgia and North Carolina at Chattahoochee High School, Myers Park High School and Chapel Hill High School while continuing in her own athletic pursuits. In 1996 she was a finalist in the high jump at the U.S. Olympic Trials. In 2001, she began her graduate work at UNC in sport administration. After completing her masters’ coursework and thesis titled, “The History and Significance of the Women’s Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Basketball Tournament,” she became the Director of Training and Recruitment for Competitive Resources Group in Lawrenceville, Ga. During that time she conducted career development workshops for various colleges across the country. She also had an opportunity to work with professional sports leagues like the WNBA and the NBDL.
She returned to the classroom once again in 2004 and served as the head boys’ and girls’ track coach at Alpharetta High School in Georgia for eight years. In that time, the Raiders were 2006 Region 6AAAA Runner-ups, 2007 Region 6AAAAA Champions, three-time Fulton County Champions (2006-08) and posted state championship team finishes of fourth, seventh and eighth place. The Raiders were mainstays of the Georgia State Track & Field Championships, and Hudson coached two-time Georgia state champion Dylan Hassett in the 3,200.
In 2011, Hudson joined the faculty of Eastside High School in Greenville, S.C. As an assistant cross country coach, she aided the Eagles in winning their first state championship. During the track and field season she coached the third-place high jump finisher, Katie Anderson, and the 2012 State 400-meter hurdles champion, Sydney Smith.
Hudson has coached numerous high school athletes who have gone on to compete at the collegiate level, including Drew Branch (University of Georgia), Dylan Hassett (William and Mary) Keturah Williams, (ETSU), Ama Larbi (Georgia Tech), Brandon Terry (Wake Forest), Breanna Radford (University of South Carolina), Daniel Jester (West Point) and Audris Williams (Murray State, who was named Rookie of the Year).
