WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue track & field and cross country coach Norbert Elliott has named Raffael Craig as the program's newest assistant coach.
Craig will coach the jumpers and combined event athletes at Purdue. He comes to the Boilermakers after one year as an assistant at Louisiana Tech and a season at Texas Tech. Craig also has 15 years of experience as a high school coach in New Jersey.
"I am happy to add Coach Raffael Craig to our staff," Elliott said. "He brings energy and enthusiasm to the jumps and combined events program, and his contact base on the East Coast will help to give us a stronger foothold in that region."
"It is an absolute honor and privilege to join the Boilermaker community," Craig said. "To be able to work with Coach Elliott and his staff is truly a blessing. I look forward to the upcoming season and the success that is coming."
In 2021-22 at Louisiana Tech, Craig coached the Conference USA heptathlon champion, along with three additional top-six finishers outdoors, two in the long jump and one in the triple jump. Indoors, the school-record heptathlon and pentathlon marks fell, and Craig's jumpers and combined event athletes totaled six top-seven marks at the C-USA Championships.
At Texas Tech in 2020-21, six Red Raiders earned All-America accolades including the NCAA triple jump champion both indoors and outdoors, Ruth Usoro. As a volunteer assistant at TTU, Craig also assisted Coach James Thomas as Usoro won a Big 12 title and broke the conference record in the triple jump and long jump, along with setting top-three marks all-time at the NCAA Championships in both events. Craig helped oversee 14 All-Big 12 honors and 12 top-10 marks in school history in his year in Lubbock.
Prior to his time as a collegiate coach, Craig spent 15 seasons at Millville High in Millville, New Jersey. His tenure was highlighted by a New Balance National Champion in 2019 by Bryanna Craig in the heptathlon. The 2019 New Jersey indoor and outdoor coach of the year, Craig coached his team to the state title that year. His squad won nine conference champions and 21 county champions, while 31 of his athletes earned All-America honors and nine won AAU or USATF national titles in his tenure.
A Big East pentathlon champion at UConn in 2000, Craig was a four-time All-Big East honoree as an athlete. He was inducted into the South Jersey Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2013 and was an eight-time USATF Masters Indoor Track & Field national champion, in 2018 and 2019.
Craig earned his bachelors degree in liberal arts from Thomas Edison State College in 2005 and his masters degree in coaching and exercise science from Concordia University Irvine in 2020.
Craig comes to West Lafayette with his wife, Sheila, and they have five children, Bryanna, Autumn, Raffael Jr., Austin and Colette. Craig's daughter, Bryanna, will be competing on the United States U-20 national team this summer and will be a freshman with the Boilermakers this season.
For more on the Purdue track & field and cross country program, visit PurdueSports.com/TrackField and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Craig will coach the jumpers and combined event athletes at Purdue. He comes to the Boilermakers after one year as an assistant at Louisiana Tech and a season at Texas Tech. Craig also has 15 years of experience as a high school coach in New Jersey.
"I am happy to add Coach Raffael Craig to our staff," Elliott said. "He brings energy and enthusiasm to the jumps and combined events program, and his contact base on the East Coast will help to give us a stronger foothold in that region."
"It is an absolute honor and privilege to join the Boilermaker community," Craig said. "To be able to work with Coach Elliott and his staff is truly a blessing. I look forward to the upcoming season and the success that is coming."
In 2021-22 at Louisiana Tech, Craig coached the Conference USA heptathlon champion, along with three additional top-six finishers outdoors, two in the long jump and one in the triple jump. Indoors, the school-record heptathlon and pentathlon marks fell, and Craig's jumpers and combined event athletes totaled six top-seven marks at the C-USA Championships.
At Texas Tech in 2020-21, six Red Raiders earned All-America accolades including the NCAA triple jump champion both indoors and outdoors, Ruth Usoro. As a volunteer assistant at TTU, Craig also assisted Coach James Thomas as Usoro won a Big 12 title and broke the conference record in the triple jump and long jump, along with setting top-three marks all-time at the NCAA Championships in both events. Craig helped oversee 14 All-Big 12 honors and 12 top-10 marks in school history in his year in Lubbock.
Prior to his time as a collegiate coach, Craig spent 15 seasons at Millville High in Millville, New Jersey. His tenure was highlighted by a New Balance National Champion in 2019 by Bryanna Craig in the heptathlon. The 2019 New Jersey indoor and outdoor coach of the year, Craig coached his team to the state title that year. His squad won nine conference champions and 21 county champions, while 31 of his athletes earned All-America honors and nine won AAU or USATF national titles in his tenure.
A Big East pentathlon champion at UConn in 2000, Craig was a four-time All-Big East honoree as an athlete. He was inducted into the South Jersey Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2013 and was an eight-time USATF Masters Indoor Track & Field national champion, in 2018 and 2019.
Craig earned his bachelors degree in liberal arts from Thomas Edison State College in 2005 and his masters degree in coaching and exercise science from Concordia University Irvine in 2020.
Craig comes to West Lafayette with his wife, Sheila, and they have five children, Bryanna, Autumn, Raffael Jr., Austin and Colette. Craig's daughter, Bryanna, will be competing on the United States U-20 national team this summer and will be a freshman with the Boilermakers this season.
For more on the Purdue track & field and cross country program, visit PurdueSports.com/TrackField and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.