Dr. Ted Bulling begins his 30th season as the Nebraska Wesleyan men’s cross country coach and his 25th year as the head coach for the women in 2019. He also coaches the NWU track and field teams in his role as Director of Track & Field/Cross Country. Over the years, his teams have won a combined total of 71 conference team titles.
One year ago, Coach Bulling guided the Nebraska Wesleyan women to a third straight conference crown winning the title on their home course at Pioneers Park. NWU women earned a spot at the 2018 NCAA III Championships and he also coached a men’s runner to the Championships and an All-American honor. Winning his third straight conference coach of the year honor, Bulling had two runners earn All-American recognition at the NCAA III Championships.
Bulling led both the Nebraska Wesleyan women and men to the NCAA III Championships in 2017. The Prairie Wolves women were the Iowa Conference champions for a second straight season and he was part of the IIAC Coaching Staff of the Year on the women’s side.
In their first year of the new conference, Coach Bulling led the Nebraska Wesleyan women to the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC). He was named the IIAC Coach of the Year in women’s cross country, and also during the indoor track & field season leading the Prairie Wolves women to the title.
Bulling has now led the NWU women’s cross country team to three straight NCAA III Championship appearances, and 15 overall appearances. He has led the NWU men to 17 national appearances, including 15 in a row from 1997-2011.
In cross country, Bulling led the men to Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) crowns in 12 of the 17 seasons, while the NWU women won or shared 10 conference titles. Bulling’s cross country coaching career includes Gary Wasserman’s individual national title at the NCAA Championships in 1992, as well as a third-place NCAA men’s team finish in 2001 and fourth-place NCAA men’s team finishes in both 2002 and 2005.
A six-time national coach of the year, Bulling has also helped Nebraska Wesleyan’s track and field program build a national reputation. The NWU men’s track and field teams have placed in the top four nationally in seven NCAA meets, and the 2005 men’s outdoor team finished No. 1 in the national power rankings. In 2000, Bulling became the only coach in history to receive both the NAIA and NCAA Men’s Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year awards.
A 1980 Nebraska Wesleyan graduate with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Bulling enjoyed an outstanding athletic career. He held the school’s discus record for 10 years and was also a three-year starter on the football team’s defensive line. He was inducted into the NWU Hall of Fame in 1996.
Bulling received his doctoral degree in educational psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1993. In addition to his coaching duties at NWU, Bulling is also an adjunct professor of education. Bulling and his wife, Denise, have two adult children, Emily and Elliott.
COACH BULLING BY THE NUMBERS
Men’s Cross Country NCAA III Appearances – 17
Men’s Cross Country Conference Championships – 16
Men’s Cross Country All-Americans – 17
Women’s Cross Country NCAA III Appearances – 15
Women’s Cross Country Conference Championships – 15
Women’s Cross Country All-Americans - 10
