Few coaches have been as successful as current Texas A&M-Corpus Christi head cross country/track and field coach Shawn Flanagan.

Beginning his 32nd season in collegiate coaching — including five as an assistant coach, Flanagan’s athletes have performed well at the highest levels of competition, both at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and in his other coaching stops at the University of Texas and the University of Texas-San Antonio.

In his coaching career, Flanagan has guided over 50 competitors to national championship meets in both track and field and cross country. His success has continued while building the Islander track & field and cross country programs from scratch.

In his 12 seasons at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Flanagan’s teams have won multiple independent titles in cross country and have won four Southland Conference crowns in women’s cross country. In 2011, the women's cross country team won their fourth title in five years and the men's team finished third. Flanagan, a 10-time coach of the year, earned his eighth Southland Women's Coach of the Year honor in 2011 and third for the Islanders.

Flanagan mentored current graduate assistant coach Shadrack Songok, who was an All-American distance runner on multiple occasions and won three national titles in his career as an Islander. Songok won back-to-back titles in the 10,000-meter run in 2007 and ’08 and won the 5,000-meter run at the NCAA Indoor Championship. He competed in consecutive NCAA Championship meets in cross county after winning the Southland Conference and NCAA South Central Region titles in 2006 and 2007. In all, Songok competed in seven NCAA Championship meets in his time as an Islander.

Songok wasn’t alone at the national meet in 2008 under the guidance of Flanagan. Hickel Woolery returned for the second year to compete in the discus, while Kassandrea Son and Hannah Manieus advanced to the regionals. Over the summer, Woolery won the Jamaican National title in the discus. In the summer of ‘07, Woolery advanced to the NCAA Championships in the discus becoming the first Islander to reach the meet in a field event. That summer, Woolery went on to place second at the Jamaican National Championships and ninth at the Pan Am Games in the discus.

Prior to joining the Southland Conference, Flanagan’s teams won four Independent Championships in cross country for women and three for men, earning him Independent Coach-of-the-Year honors each time. The cross-country teams have been ranked regionally on a regular basis for several seasons.

As an independent, Flanagan led the women to four Independent Championships including their final season as an indy in 2005. The final title in cross country in 2005 allowed the women to rebound from a second-place finish the prior season en route to a seventh place finish at the South Central Regional meet. Yvette Rodriguez missed all-region honors by one spot for the women, while J.R. Pulido followed up a second-place finish in the men’s Independent Championship race by becoming the first men’s all-region performer. He was the top men’s runner in 2004 finishing eighth at the Independent Championship.

During the 2003 campaign, both the Islander men’s and women’s cross country teams posted three top-five finishes, including wins at the Independent Championship. In 2002, the Islanders posted an impressive campaign, as the Islander women won four titles (including the Texas A&M Invitational) and the men won back-to-back titles late in the season. Both teams captured the Houston and Southern Independent Championships.

After competing in their first cross country season in 2000, the Islanders made tremendous strides in 2001. Both teams defeated Texas-Pan American twice and Texas-San Antonio and the men broke into the regional poll at No. 10.

Flanagan came to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi after serving as the head cross country/assistant track & field coach at the University of Texas during the 1997 to 1999 seasons. Prior to joining the Longhorns, he was an instrumental component of another Division I program at UTSA. After serving as an assistant coach for four seasons, Flanagan inherited the Roadrunner program and quickly established it on not only a regional level, but also at a national level. During his time at Texas-San Antonio, Flanagan’s teams captured 19 Southland Conference and Trans American Conference team championships.

In 1996, Flanagan piloted the Roadrunners women’s cross country team to a first-place finish in the region and 19th at the NCAAs. They were the first school not previously affiliated with the former Southwest Conference to win the region.

Aside from his duties and responsibilities as a coach, Flanagan has been involved in the operation and planning of numerous athletic events and associations.

A two-time honorable mention All-American at Wisconsin-Platteville, Flanagan served as the associate meet director of the track & field portion of the 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival held in San Antonio and also handled the duties of vice president of the USA South Texas Track & Field Association from 1990-94.

Following graduation, Flanagan served four years in the U.S. Army (1978-82) before taking the assistant position with the Roadrunners. Flanagan completed his master’s at UTSA in 1982.