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Georgetown University Athletics

Big East Conference Hoya Saxa

Julie Culley

Julie Culley is now in her fourth season at the helm of the Georgetown track & field / cross country program, following a two-year stint as an assistant coach. A United States Olympian coached by Georgetown Hall of Fame Coach Frank Gagliano, Culley won the women’s 5,000-meter run at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, earning a trip to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where she was a finalist in her event.

AT GEORGETOWN: DIRECTOR
  • Culley has led the Hoyas to 50 All-America honors in more than 10 different events. Georgetown has consistently garnered All-America accolades as the program has earned six (2018-19), eight (2017-18) and 12 (2016-17) nods in her first three seasons as director.
  • The Hoyas picked up six All-America honors in 2018-19 and showcased top tier form during each postseason. Men’s cross country captured its fourth-consecutive BIG EAST championship and the third since Culley took the reins. During the indoor season, the men’s distance medley relay (DMR) had a third-place showing at the NCAA championships. The outdoor season was highlighted by a fourth-place finish in the 5,000-meter run at the NCAA championships, the best finish for a Hoya since the 2011 season. 
  • During the 2017-2018 season, the program picked up eight All-America nods. As a squad, the men’s cross country team won its third-straight BIG EAST Championship.
  • Culley and the track & field / cross country staff were recognized for their efforts following the 2016-17 season as Georgetown ranked No. 6 in the final USTFCCCA Men’s Program of the Year standings. With Culley in the director role, the Hoyas finished 21st at the NCAA Men’s Cross Country Championships, tied for 16th at the NCAA Men’s Indoor Championships and placed 12th at the NCAA Men’s Outdoor Championships.
  • Across all three seasons on the men’s and women’s side, the 2016-17 year saw the Hoyas tally 12 All-America honors in eight different events from seven student-athletes. The men’s team saw four top-three finishes between the indoor and outdoor NCAA championships and Georgetown won the BIG EAST Men’s Cross Country Championship.
AT GEORGETOWN: ASSISTANT
  • Prior to taking over as director, Culley coached 10 student-athletes to 24 All-America honors in eight different events. As an assistant, Culley helped Georgetown win 14 total BIG EAST event titles and the Hoya women captured the team title at the 2014 BIG EAST Cross Country Championships.
  • The Georgetown women recorded a pair of top-10 national finishes during her stint as an assistant: a fourth-place finish at the 2014 NCAA Cross Country Championships and a ninth-place showing at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.
  • For her efforts, Culley was named the 2016 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mid-Atlantic Assistant Coach of the Year.
PRIOR TO GEORGETOWN: PROFESSIONAL CAREER
  • Culley returned to coaching after an eight-year stint focusing primarily on her professional running career. In addition to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, Culley represented the United States as she was part of Team USA at the 2008 IAAF Indoor World Championships (3,000m), at the 2009 IAAF World Championships (5,000m) and again at the 2009 IAAF Cross Country World Championships (8,000m).
  • During that time, Culley was also engaging in other endeavors such as incorporating and co-founding, under Coach Gagliano, the 501(c)(3) non-profit, New Jersey New York Track Club, where she was responsible for all business operations and club finances through 2013.
  • She also founded and served as race director of the Run O’ the Mill 5K in Clinton, New Jersey. 
PRIOR TO GEORGETOWN: COACHING
  • Culley’s most recent coaching stop was at nearby American University from 2007-10, where she served as an assistant cross country and track & field coach, assisting then-Head Coach Matt Centrowitz with program operations, travel, recruiting and daily practices.
  • She was also coached by Centrowitz, a two-time Olympian, four-time United States champion, former American record holder and father of 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games 1,500-meter gold medalist, Matthew Centrowitz.
  • Prior to American, Culley spent three years as the head women’s track & field coach and the assistant cross country coach at Loyola University in Baltimore. She directed all activities of the NCAA Division I track & field program, including recruiting, travel planning, facility coordination and training plans for all track and cross country athletes.
COLLEGIATE CAREER, ACADEMIC & PERSONAL
  • Culley was a track & field and cross country athlete at Rutgers University, earning All-America honors in cross country in 2002.
  • A three-time MVP of the cross country team and a two-time MVP of the track & field team, Culley was awarded the Headley Singer Award, given annually to one outstanding female RU student-athlete.
  • She was named the NJAIAW Woman of the Year in 2003 and was the recipient of the 2003 David A. “Sonny” Werblin Award, given to a national level accomplished RU athlete.
  • She was the NCAA Woman of the Year for the State of New Jersey in 2003 and three times earned all-academic honors.
  • She was announced as a member of the 2016 Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame Class and was inducted in a ceremony in October 2016.
  • Culley graduated cum laude from Rutgers University in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and political science.
  • Culley is a certified Life Coach of Sport through Sport Life Coaching Academy and Patterson Sports Ventures, a program designed to elevate individuals from Good to Great through the teaching of many of the NCAA’s best coaches, primarily legendary UCLA Men’s Basketball Coach John Wooden.
  • Culley currently resides in Arlington, Virginia, with her husband, Chris Farley, and their sons, James (3) and Paul (1). She and her husband own Pacers Running, running specialty stores in the DC area.