Dimit comes to Rowan after five years as head men’s and women’s cross country coach and assistant men’s and women’s track and field coach at Buffalo State. He succeeds Bill Fritz, who retired after 43 years of coaching.
“I’m excited to join a program with such a rich history,” Dimit said. “Succeeding Coach Fritz will be a tough challenge that I look forward to. He has done a lot for this program and I hope to build off of what he has accomplished. I would like to thank Dan Gilmore for this opportunity and I want to make our fan base and alumni proud.”
During his tenure, Dimit coached the Bengals’ men’s cross country team to its best conference finish in 31 years. In 2012, Buffalo State had a runner compete at the NCAA Division III Championships for the first time in 28 years. As an assistant for track and field, Dimit helped lead the men’s and women’s teams to four NCAA top-10 finishes, four State University of New York Athletic Conference titles and one Eastern College Athletic Conference title. The Bengals had six individuals win national titles and 34 were named All-Americans. With Dimit’s guidance, Buffalo State student-athletes set 43 school records and captured 23 individual SUNYAC championships.
“We’re very excited to add Dustin to our athletic staff,” Gilmore said. “We feel that Dustin has established himself as one of the top coaches in NCAA Division III. We think that having his influence on our program will continue to add to our legacy and help us compete at the highest level toward winning national championships.”
Prior to Buffalo State, Dimit was an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s cross country and track and field programs at Allegheny. In cross country, the Gators had four student-athletes receive All-America honors, 18 qualified for the national championships and four won individual conference titles. The men’s and women’s teams won a combined six North Coast Athletic Conference championships and seven teams qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships, with three finishing in the top 10. In track and field, Allegheny won 11 NCAC crowns with 49 student-athletes winning individual titles. The Gators had 42 individuals qualify for the national championships, with 10 earning All-America honors. During Dimit’s tenure, 18 student-athletes set school records.
Dimit’s first collegiate coaching experience came in 2003 as an assistant men’s and women’s cross country coach at his alma mater, Grove City College.
Dimit serves as a member of the Division III cross country executive committee for the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. He served as secretary from 2010-14 and has been elected second vice president for 2014-16, first vice president for 2016-18 and president for 2018-20. Dimit was the lead author of the NCAA realignment plan for regions in cross country and track and field and coordinated the USTFCCCA women's cross country national poll. He is a USA Track certified Level II jumps coach.
A 2003 graduate of Grove City College, Dimit was a decorated runner in his own right, helping lead the men’s cross country and track and field teams to a combined eight Presidents’ Athletic Conference championships. He was also an individual All-PAC honoree and was on the PAC All-Academic Team. A native of Alliance, Ohio, Dimit completed his bachelor’s degree in history with a secondary education certification in social studies and mathematics. In 2007, he earned a master’s in sports administration and sports coaching from the United States Sports Academy.
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