Theresa Fuqua is in her 13th year as head track and field and cross country coach after being hired to lead the revival of the HCU program in May 2007. Prior to joining the Huskies, Fuqua spent 12 years as head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach at the University of Houston.
Over the past 12 years, Fuqua has put together a comprehensive men's and women's track and field and cross country program that has grown under her guidance as the Huskies enter year seven in the Southland Conference. During the six years since joining the Southland, Fuqua’s teams have seen all-conference performances in cross country and 37 medalists in indoor/outdoor track & field.
Prior to joining the Southland, HCU consistently placed in the top three in the Great West Conference, culminating in a pair of GWC indoor titles in 2013. Under Fuqua’s guidance the Huskies sent athletes to the NCAA West Preliminary Round in three consecutive seasons.
In the classroom, HCU's track and field and cross country teams have won national recognition, with the women's track and field squad earning USTFCCCA Academic All-America status in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
At UH Fuqua earned Conference USA Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year honors in 2004 after leading the Cougars to the school's first league title since 1960. In 2006 she helped berth in the NCAA Cross Country Championships. In her first season as head men's cross country coach in 2002, Fuqua coached NCAA national qualifier Michael Olague.
Fuqua also guided the UH women's cross country team to a fourth place finish at the 2002 C-USA Cross Country Championships and a seventh place finish at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships. She coached a trio of women's all-Conference USA performers in Emma Lindblom (1999), Jackie Rzepecki (1998) and Stacy Poole (1997).
In addition to coaching the men's and women's cross country teams, Fuqua coached Houston's men's and women's middle distance and distance corps throughout the indoor and outdoor track and field campaigns.
In 2006, she coached Jennifer Hunt to a third place finish in the 800 meters at the C-USA outdoor championships. Olague was the 5,000-meter champion in 2003. Fuqua also has coached three C-USA track and field individual champions and a distance medley relay team in the women's division. She tutored 1998 C-USA indoor and outdoor 800 meter champion Vernetta Rolle and 2000 indoor mile champion Dawn Charlier. Houston also won the distance medley relay at the 1998 C-USA indoor meet.
Fuqua started at UH in 1995 after serving six years as the head cross country coach and assistant track coach at Episcopal High School. She was named Episcopal's Teacher of the Year in 1993-94 and directed Episcopal's girl's track team to two straight SPC state track and field championships in 1992 and 1993.
A record-setting distance runner at Houston, Fuqua was a four-time All-American, two-time cross country MVP and two-time track and field MVP. She holds the current UH records in the indoor mile, and the outdoor 800 and 1,500 meters. In 1988, Fuqua qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 800 and 1,500 meter events.
She received a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Foods from UH in 1989. Fuqua and her husband, Jerry, have a 22-year-old son, Miles.
