When the Embry-Riddle cross country program began on Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus in 1999, it excelled beyond expectations. In 2003, a search committee was commissioned with finding a new head coach that would build on prior success and take the program to a new level. The committee’s choice was Mike Rosolino and in eight seasons as the head coach of ERAU’s men’s and women’s programs, Rosolino has built on the tradition of success and molded Embry-Riddle cross country into one of the top programs in the nation.
Over the last nine cross country seasons, Mike Rosolino’s harriers have dominated Sun Conference competition. The men’s team has six league titles to its credit, while women’s team has topped the conference standings in each of the last five seasons. The Eagles run began in 2005 when the Embry-Riddle men captured the program’s first league and NAIA Regional titles and made their first team appearance at the NAIA National Championship. A year later, Rosolino’s harriers repeated that performance and were joined by the ERAU women who claimed their first regional and conference crowns.
Rosolino has been named The Sun Conference Cross Country Coach of the Year 11 times in his Embry-Riddle career - six times for the men and five on the women’s side – and the NAIA Region XIV Coach four times. He picked up his latest league coaching accolades in 2010 after leading both teams to yet another conference championship. The men took fifth place overall at the NAIA National Championship in 2009, with three runners earning All-America honors for the first time in program history, while the women finished 16th that same season. In 2005, Rosolino was tasked with launching a track and field program at Embry-Riddle. His penchant for success is evident in track and field as well as he has led the men to five conference championships and the women to three league titles in the last seven seasons. Rosolino has coached numerous conference champions, 70 All-Americans, and three National Champions: Beth McCubbin (1000m; 2008, 09), Crystal Bardge (100m hurdles; 2011; 60m hurdles, 2011) and Sam Vaquez (1000m; 2011).
In 2007, the Eagle men earned their first Sun Conference Championship under Rosolino’s guidance and repeated that feat the following season, which earned him Sun Conference Coach of the Year honors both times.
The 2009 campaign saw the women’s track team follow in the footsteps of the men, capturing ERAU’s first conference title on the women’s side to complete an Embry-Riddle sweep in the sport. The 2010 season yielded much of the same as the Eagles boasted The Sun Conference and Field Athlete of the Year to claim the men’s crown for the fourth year in a row, while the women emerged with their second straight conference championship. The women were 18th at the NAIA Indoor National Track and Field Championships, while the men were 18th at outdoor nationals.
Along with training top athletes, Rosolino sets the highest standards for his athletes in the classroom. In the past nine seasons he has coached 109 NAIA All-America Scholar Athletes, including 14 during the 2010-11 season. His teams have also consistently earned NAIA Scholar Team recognition.
Rosolino came to Embry-Riddle from Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., where he spent two years on the coaching staff for the Blue Hose. He began his stint at Presbyterian as an assistant coach and was elevated to the head job after just six months. Despite the brevity of his tenure with the program, Rosolino guided the Blue Hose to their best finishes in school history, producing two South Atlantic Conference Runners of the Year and a Freshman of the Year in the process.
Prior to earning his position within the Presbyterian athletic department, Rosolino spent four academic years (1997-01) as the Director of Residence Life in Clinton. He also served as Resident Director for one year (1996-97) while attending graduate school.
A former standout runner for Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., Rosolino helped the Lynx to three Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) titles from 1993-95. In his final season, he assumed the role of team captain and finished 11th overall at the SCAC Championship meet. Rosolino also ran two seasons for the Rhodes track team, competing in the middle to long distance races. In 1995, he finished fifth at the SCAC Championships in the steeplechase.
An Academic All-American for Rhodes in 1994 and 1995, Rosolino was a National Merit finalist and earned distinction as a National Science Scholar.
Rosolino earned his bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Rhodes in 1996. He went on to receive his Master of Education degree from the University of South Carolina in 1998 with an emphasis on student personnel services. Rosolino also holds a Level II certification from USA Track and Field. He is currently pursuing a second masters degree in Theology from Loyola College in New Orleans.
Rosolino and his wife Carrie have been married for 11 years and reside in Port Orange with daughter Lynnlee and son Tanner.
