David Cain is now in his 27th season as head coach of the UAH men's and women's cross country and track and field programs, assuming his role back in 1998. During Cain's tenure in Huntsville, he has established UAH as one of the premier cross country and track & field programs in Division II.
In Cain's 26 highly productive and successful seasons, he has earned GSC Coach of the Year honors eight times and has led the the Chargers to a combined total of 14 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship appearances with eight by the men's team and six by the women's squad. He has guided the Charger women to five GSC Championships, while the men's team has won the conference title on seven occasions. Cain has coached a combined total of eight GSC Individual Champions, 113 First Team All-GSC honorees and seven GSC Freshmen of the Year.
Cain, having built the track & field program from the ground up, led the men's and women's track and field programs to their back-to-back Peach Belt Conference titles in 2013 and 2014 prior to competing in the GSC in spring 2017. Since UAH's start of competition in the GSC, Cain has guided the men's squad to four conference championships in 2017, 2018, 2021, and 2022, while boasting a total of 45 All-Americans between the men's and women's program since 2017.
A 2023 Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, Cain is a graduate of Mississippi State where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Fitness Management. While at MSU, he was on both the cross country and track teams and was in charge of public relations for the M-Club. Cain garnered Athletic Academic All-SEC in his time as a Bulldogs, and was also named to the President’s List as well as the the MSU Athletic Department Honor Roll.
A native of Huntsville, Cain graduated from Grissom High School where he lettered in track and cross country. His senior season he was named All-City and All-State in both sports, and finished second in the state in the two mile race.
Cain worked a semester as a Fitness Management Intern with the MSU strength and conditioning coaches. He then managed First Place Athletics, a running specialty store and worked as a fitness instructor at PRSM Fitness Center.
Cain's wife, Ashley, is also an avid runner. The couple resides in Huntsville and are proud parents of five children, Philip, James, Elizabeth, Annabell and Alexis.
Coaching Honors
(O=Outdoor T&F I=Indoor T&F M=Men W=Women XC=Cross Country)
8x GSC Cross Country Coach of the Year
1999 - 2007 - 2011 - 2012 - 2013 - 2019 - 2020 - 2021
12x GSC Cross Country Champion
1999 (W) - 2003 (W) - 2004 (W) - 2007 (M) - 2010 (W) - 2011 (M) - 2012 (M) - 2013 (M) - 2013 (W) - 2019 (M) - 2020 (M) - 2021 (M)
11x USTFCCCA South Region Men's Coach of the Year
2009 (O) -2011 (XC) - 2011 (I) - 2012 (I) - 2013 (O) - 2013 (I) - 2014 (I) - 2017 (O) - 2018 (O) - 2021 (O) - 2022 (O)
5x USTFCCCA South Region Women's Coach of the Year
2007 (I) - 2009 (O) - 2010 (I) - 2013 (O) - 2015 (I)
4x Gulf South Conference T&F Outdoor Champion
2017 (M) - 2018 (M) - 2021 (M) - 2022 (M)
4x Gulf South Conference T&F Outdoor Coach of the Year
2017 (M) - 2018 (M) - 2021 (M) - 2022 (M)
3x Peach Belt Conference T&F Champion
2013 (M) - 2013 (W) - 2014 (W)
2x Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year
2014, 2015
