SAN ANTONIO — UTSA Athletics is mourning the loss of former track & field coach James Blackwood, who passed away January 22 at the age of 84.
Blackwood was a member of the UTSA track & field coaching staff for nine seasons from 1999-2000 to 2007-08. He spent the last seven seasons as head coach of the women’s program. During his time with the Roadrunners, he coached a pair of All-Americans in Ryanne Dupree — a four-time honoree and the 2006 Southland Conference Athlete of the Year — and Rhonda Ray, as well as more than 60 all-conference performers and over 25 conference champions.
Blackwood’s student-athletes also were successful in the classroom with two Academic All-America certificates, four Academic All-District accolades, four Southland Conference Student-Athlete of the Year honors and 11 academic all-conference awards.
A 1964 graduate of Abilene Christian, Blackwood began his coaching career in 1965 in his hometown of Corpus Christi at W.B. Ray High School where he was an assistant track & field and cross country coach. His cross country team won the state championship in 1965 and was runner-up in 1966. From 1967-70, he was the head track and assistant football coach at Corpus Christi King. The next two years, Blackwood assumed the same duties at Richardson High near Dallas.
Blackwood started his collegiate coaching career at Texas in 1972 as an assistant track and field/cross country coach with the Longhorns. In addition to the All-Americans produced at Texas, Blackwood’s teams captured 13 Southwest Conference Championships. During his 12 years as an assistant at UT, the Longhorns finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships 11 times.
In 1985, he was named recruiting coordinator for the Texas football team. The Longhorns captured one Southwest Conference football title and went to three bowls during Blackwood’s recruiting tenure. Twenty-five of his players went on to play in the NFL.
Seven years later, Blackwood was named an academic counselor at Texas. In 1996, he left the collegiate ranks to work with the Houston Astros Baseball Club. He returned to college coaching in 1997 as the head cross country and assistant track and field coach at Southern Miss.
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