Jack Warner has been the head coach of the William Smith cross country team since 1995. He brings to the Heron athletics program more than 50 years of experience as a cross country and track coach.

A 2005 inductee into the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Warner has directed the steady improvement of the Herons, who have finished as high as eighth in the ECAC Championship meet and 14th at the NCAA Regional Championship meet. In 2000, William Smith had its first runner reach the national championship meet. Amy Young ’03 finished 33rd overall, earning All-American honors. She returned to the national stage once more before completing her degree.

Dedicated to developing the complete student-athlete, Warner's Herons have been honored by the Cross Country Coaches Association as an All-Academic Team 13 consecutive times.

Warner has also been a key figure in the success of the Great Heron Road Race, which has raised thousands of dollars for the fight against breast cancer.

Warner returned to coaching in 1995 after retiring from Cornell University in 1990. At Cornell, he guided the Big Red cross country and indoor and outdoor track programs for 23 years, compiling a record of 267-149-4.

In 1978 he was named the NCAA District II Men’s Track Coach of the Year, and, in 1983, the District II Women’s Cross Country Co-Coach of the Year.

Prior to his Cornell tenure, Warner spent 11 years at the helm of the Colgate University cross country and track programs, where his team went 135-82-3.

A 1951 graduate of Syracuse University with a bachelor's degree in liberal arts and education, Warner served three years active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps following graduation. Upon discharge from the Marines, he spent a year as a physical education teacher-coach in the North Syracuse Central School System.

Warner served as an assistant coach at Kansas University from 1955 to 1956, where he also received a master’s degree in education prior to his move to Colgate. He served as co-coach of the Uganda Olympic Team in 1960. Throughout his career Warner has coached many Division I All-Americans, Olympic qualifiers, and Olympians.

A New York State-certified track and field and cross country official, Warner served as referee of the NCAA Division III Indoor Track Championships in 1996.

In 1988, his alma mater honored him as a Letter Winner of Distinction. Warner is a member of the Rome (N.Y.) Sports Hall of Fame, the Cornell Sports Hall of Fame, and the Niagara Association of USA Track & Field Hall of Fame.

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