Athletic Insider Interview Series: Chris Popovici
Chris Popovici has served as SUNY Geneseo’s track and field head coach and cross country assistant head coach since the 2014-15 season (Photo Courtesy of Benjamin Gajewski - North Street Studios/GeneseoKnights.com).
As both the head coach of SUNY Geneseo’s men’s and women’s track and field teams, along with holding the assistant head coaching position for the cross country squads, Chris Popovici has played a pivotal role in cementing both programs as cornerstones of the college’s athletics department.
In Coach Popovici’s eight full seasons with the Knights, his teams have taken home 40 out of 48 possible State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championships, earned 120 All-American certificates, and consisted of 13 NCAA Champions. Personally, coach Popovici has earned SUNYAC Coach of the Year honors 19 times and has been named Atlantic Region Coach of the Year 19 times since the 2014-15 season.
Prior to Popovici’s coaching career, he was a SUNY Geneseo graduate in the class of 2006. A communication major, Popovici was also a pivotal piece of Geneseo’s track and field culture during his four years attending the college and won the 500m event during the 2004 SUNYAC Indoor Championships.
After graduating, Popovici coached at his high school alma mater in Pittsford for three years before becoming a graduate assistant at SUNY Cortland. At Cortland, he worked as an assistant coach on the Red Dragons’ track and field and cross country teams. After graduating with a master’s degree in exercise physiology in 2011, Popovici took similar coaching positions with SUNY Oneonta where he was a part of two firsts in program history—men’s indoor and outdoor track and field teams earning SUNYAC Championships. While at Oneonta, he also served as a lecturer in the Health and Fitness and Sports Management departments for three years.
Through his multiple tenures before landing as a Knight, coach Popovici learned how he wanted to coach when he was given the opportunity to lead a team of his own. He also holds on strongly to many of the tips given to him by his former mentor and long-time Geneseo track and field and cross country coach Mike Woods. “Woodsie,” as Popovici endearingly referred to his late friend, left a lasting impact on the program and Popovici himself, personally and professionally. One thing that Popovici still remembers Woodie telling him, and that he holds onto while coaching his teams now was that “this [track and field] is someone’s passion and you don’t want to be the coach that ruins that.”
Along with his former mentor, coach Popovici has had an abundance of help getting him to where is in his career, especially in Geneseo. Dan Moore, head coach of the cross country teams and Popovici’s assistant track and field coach has been there right alongside him throughout his tenure. Aside from Moore, Popovici was quick to point out that the whole athletics department is “highly motivated and all care about each other” leading to a large group of coaches who all work to make each other better every day.
Looking towards the team members, coach Popovici explained what he has done over the years with the teams that he believes has created such a positive culture. At the beginning of the school year, upperclassmen on the squad are teamed up with underclassmen in a “big brother/sister” program to foster camaraderie. Along with that, team study halls are set up for freshmen, and Popovici sets up one-on-one meetings with team members about their goals and checkpoints both at the beginning and end of each year. He also aims to continuously check in with them about their felt/perceived progress during the year, as well.
Based on the team’s achievements throughout his career, it is obvious that what Popovici does to motivate and keep his team members on track is working. On Saturday, Feb. 24, both the men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams were crowned SUNYAC champions for the seventh consecutive year. Going forward, the teams will compete at the Atlantic Regional Championships at Nazareth before taking on the NCAA Championships from Mar. 8-9. Following those meets, the outdoor squads will commence their 2024 season on Mar. 29-30 while looking to extend their streak of conference dominance even further.