University of North Carolina Athletics
Track & Field
- Title:
- Assistant Coach (Sprints/Hurdles/Relays/Jumps)
- Email:
- coachrubin@unc.edu
- Phone:
- 919-962-5210
Steve Rubin is in his fifth year at the University of North Carolina coaching the Tar Heels’ men’s sprinters and hurdlers and the men’s and women’s horizontal jumpers. In his 25-year career as both a head coach and an assistant coach, Coach Rubin has guided student-athletes to All-America status in every sprinting, relay, hurdling and jumping event, as well as the decathlon.
The 2015-16 track and field season proved to be another successful year for the men’s sprints and hurdles under the direction of Rubin. Kenny Selmon earned First Team All-America honors after finishing third in the 400m hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, while Javonte Lipsey took Second Team honors for placing 14th in the 400m. Rubin coached all of UNC’s student-athletes that qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, which included Ceo Ways, Kenny Selmon, Javonte Lipsey and the 4x400 relay (Ways, Lipsey, Selmon and Cory Nicholls). Kenny Selmon and RJ Alowonle concluded their outdoor seasons at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. In the 400m hurdle semifinals, Alowonle captured 12th place, while Selmon finished in 13th place. At the ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Ceo Ways (twice), Joey Souza and the 4x400 relay earned All-ACC honors under the direction of Rubin.
In 2014-15, the Tar Heel resurgence in the men’s sprints and hurdles under Rubin’s guidance continued. Sophomore Ceo Ways was named First Team All-America in the 400m, setting a new personal record of 45.49, which moved him to third on UNC’s all-time performance list. Ways joined freshman Kenny Selmon, senior Sean Sutton and junior Javonte Lipsey to gain First Team All-America honors in the Indoor 4x400m relay, placing sixth overall at the 2015 Championships. Outdoors, the relay quartet continued its dominance at the ACC championship, winning its fourth conference title in a row, as well as setting a new school record with the team of Ways, Sutton, Lipsey and junior RJ Alowonle in 3:04.06. Rubin has also been instrumental in the recent recognition of UNC as “Hurdle U,” as the Tar Heels placed three 400m hurdlers in the NCAA National Championships. Among them, Selmon had an outstanding first season, setting a new personal record of 49.60, winning the US Junior National Championship and earning a silver medal at the 2015 Junior Pan American Games. Lipsey set a new personal record of 49.65 and finished 10th overall at the NCAA Championships; and junior RJ Alowonle set his new personal record of 50.02.
In 2013-14, Rubin led the men’s sprinters and hurdlers to one of the most successful campaigns in UNC history. The Indoor 4x400 meter relay team of RJ Alowonle, Sean Sutton, Javonte Lipsey and Ceo Ways moved from relative obscurity to a fifth-place All-American finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The team ran 3:06.49 and was just 0.13 seconds from the school record, which was set by the 1996 National Championship team. Outdoors, the men’s sprinters and hurdlers made a significant impact at the 2014 ACC Outdoor Championships, combining to score 67 of the team’s 110 total points. The 400m hurdles were a particularly strong area for the Tar Heels, as sophomore Alowonle won his second straight ACC Championship and sophomore Lipsey was right behind to earn the silver medal and ensure the second consecutive year that North Carolina would finish 1-2 in the event. Freshman Ceo Ways signaled his arrival in the ACC by completing an impressive pair of second-place finishes in both the 200m (20.53) and 400m (45.93), and by anchoring the ACC-Champion 4x400m relay team that included Alowonle, Lipsey and freshman Kwame Donyinah. The team ran 3:05.89 to claim North Carolina’s third consecutive ACC 4x400m Championship. At the Outdoor NCAA Championships, Alowonle set his PR of 50.11 en route to earning fifth place and First Team NCAA All-America honors, while Lipsey finished 10th for Second Team All-America honors. The 4x400 meter relay team of Alowonle, Donyinah, Lipsey and Ways ran their best time of the year in the preliminary round and qualified for the NCAA finals with a time of 3:04.80, the second best time in UNC history.
In his first year in Chapel Hill, Rubin guided four athletes to the NCAA Championships, including Clayton Parros, Tristine Johnson and Briana Hudson, all of whom qualified for the Outdoor NCAA Finals in Eugene, Ore., and Chrishawn Williams who qualified for the Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. Williams earned All-America honors in the long jump with a lifetime-best of 6.31m; Parros achieved a collegiate-best in the 400m at 45.73; and Johnson and Hudson jumped 12.84m and 12.75m, respectively, to give the Tar Heels double-qualifiers in the women’s triple jump. Coach Rubin’s squad also made a significant impact at the conference level as his athletes garnered 10 All-ACC Outdoor honors. Included among those achievements were the Carolina’s Men’s 4x400 relay team, which became repeat-ACC Champions, and RJ Alowonle and Reynaldo Radlin, who finished 1-2 in the 400m hurdles. Rubin’s jumpers also made a statement as Jacinda Evans (6.43) and Chrishawn Williams (6.31) finished second and third in the Women’s Long Jump with national top-10 marks.
In 2005, while head coach at Florida International, he led Sheri-Ann Brooks to an NCAA Championship in the 200 meters, as she ran 22.85 and became the first-ever national champion in the history of the FIU program. In the same year, Rubin guided Kevon Pierre to FIU records in the 100m (10.19) and 200m (22.42) and led the men’s 4x100 to a school record (39.65) and NCAA Championship qualification. In 2010, he guided Case Western Reserve's Obinna Nwanna to an NCAA National Championship in the decathlon. In all, he has coached a total of 39 First Team NCAA All-Americans and two national champions over the course of his distinguished career.
Rubin is a USATF Level II Certified Instructor and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the NSCA. He graduated from Emory University in 1991 with a bachelor's degree in political science and philosophy. He and his wife, Tiffeni, live in Chapel Hill, N.C.
