The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Staff Directory
- Title:
- Volunteer Coach, Track and Field
Ackelia Smith joins the Texas coaching staff as a volunteer coach after winning three NCAA titles while on the Forty Acres. Smith won her first tile on her home track during the 2023 season winning the long jump and finished as the runner-up in the triple jump. Smith became the first Longhorn woman in 18 years to win back-to-back titles in the NCAA Outdoor meet and first since Destinee Hooker won the high jump in 2006-07. She's also the first woman to win consecutive NCAA Outdoor long jump crowns since 2002-03, when Elva Goulbourne of Auburn completed the feat. She finished her collegiate career winning the triple jump with a jump of 14.52m (47-7.25). She missed the NCAA Championship meet record by two centimeters but recorded the fifth-best jump in NCAA history. Her double victory made her the first Longhorn in Texas history to win both at the same championship meet and first to win the triple jump since Terri Turner in 1986. She now competes as a pro for PUMA.
