John Weaver is in his 36th season as the head coach and director of the women’s track and field and cross country programs and is in his 23rd season as the director for both the men and women’s programs. Weaver assumed the duties of directing both programs in the fall of 1995.
A 1971 graduate of Appalachian State in biology, Weaver returned in 1979 as a graduate assistant in the men’s program while earning his masters in biology. During his three-year tenure as the men’s assistant, he trained two NCAA qualifiers and seven Southern Conference champions.
Weaver took over the full-time coaching duties for the women’s program in 1982. He is the only full-time head coach the women’s program has had since its beginnings. Since that time, the program including cross country, indoor track and outdoor track has produced a NCAA Division I National Champion in the 1500m twice, 9 NCAA Division I All-Americans with 23 All-American performances, 26 NCAA Division I qualifiers, two Sun Belt Conference team championships (women's indoor and women's cross country), 13 Sun Belt Conference individual titles, 63 Sun Belt all-conference performances (40 in track and 23 in cross country), one Sun Belt Conference Outstanding Track Performer, one Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year honor, 373 Southern Conference individual champion performances, 928 Southern Conference all-conference performances, 34 Southern Conference MVP athletes, 45 Southern Conference team championships, 27 Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors, 28 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year honors, 50 SoCon All-Freshman team honors, and two Southeast Region Coach of the Year honors.
In the Southern Conference, the women’s program has accomplished seven triple crowns as well as a SoCon title in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track in the same academic year. The women won 20 straight SoCon Championships from 1987 to 1993. Mountaineer women currently hold five SoCon indoor individual event records and 10 SoCon outdoor individual event records.
Weaver coached many accomplished women, highlighted by All-American Melissa Morrison-Howard, who won 12 SoCon individual titles and went on to earn a pair of Olympic bronze medals, and Mary Jayne Harrelson, the 1999 and 2001 NCAA 1500-meter champion.
After Weaver took over the men’s program in 1995, the Mountaineers have produced 10 NCAA Division I All-Americans, nine NCAA All-American performances, 37 Division I qualifiers, 178 Southern Conference individual champion performances, six Sun Belt Conference individual champion performances, 654 Southern Conference all-conference performances, 40 Sun Belt Conference all-conference performances, 29 Southern Conference MVP athletes, 30 Southern Conference team championships, 15 Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors, 59 Southern Conference All-Freshman team honors and one Southeast Region Coach of the Year honor. In the SoCon, the men’s program has accomplished four triple crowns and Mountaineer men currently hold five SoCon indoor individual event records and 11 SoCon outdoor individual event records.
Appalachian State has qualified 69 men and 52 women for the East Region with 8 NCAA Championship qualifying performances coming out of the region. In 2004, Appalachian had its first East Region champion with a first place in the 100m dash for the men.
Since joining the Sun Belt Conference, his men and women’s teams have garnered 18 individual event titles and 89 all-conference honors. The men’s program had the outdoor MVP in its first year. He has played a vital part in two Sun Belt Conference cross country championships, seeing the women capture the title in 2016 and the men in 2017.
The Weaver directed programs for men and women have not only accomplished athletic honors, but academically, they have distinguished themselves with 21 NCAA All-Academic team distinctions, 15 NCAA All-Academic women and three NCAA All-Academic men. There have been, on average, 35 of the program’s athletes on the semester honor rolls each semester since 1995.
Weaver worked as the Yosef Club Director (athletic fundraising arm of the ASU Foundation, Inc.) from 1982 to 1985. He has also taught classes in the education and physical education departments of the University. A native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, Weaver graduated from Seventy-First High School in 1967. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1971 from Appalachian before returning to Fayetteville to teach biology and eventually take over the cross country and track programs at Douglas Byrd High School in 1972.
Currently, Weaver coaches the 800-meter run and hurdles, while overseeing all aspects of the track and cross country programs as its director. Weaver served on the NCAA Division I Track and Cross Country Committee from September of 2006 until September of 2010. He currently serves on the NCAA Track and Field Rules Committee and is a member of the USTFCCCA Championship Advisory Committee and serves as the 2nd Vice President on the USTFCCCA Division I Executive Committee.
During the summer of 2012, Weaver was chosen as the sprints and hurdles coach for the men’s USA National Under 23 team that competed in Mexico.
Each summer, Weaver directs the Grandfather Mountain Marathon, The Bear Race and two Cross Country Team Camps. Over 900 athletes attend camp at Appalachian each summer for cross country and track events. Weaver is married to Cynthia Harmon of Lenoir, North Carolina and has two sons, Chase (29) and Jay (27), both graduates of Appalachian.
