SAN FRANCISCO -- Academy of Art University Athletics has announced Akil Gipson as its new assistant coach for track & field. Reprising his role from 2016 to 2019, Gipson will work alongside Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Kevin LaSure as well as Assistant Coaches Nkosinza Balumbu and Bruce Jackson in preparing the Urban Knights for the upcoming 2023-24 campaign.

"We are excited to have Coach Gipson rejoining our program," LaSure said. "His addition will allow us to expand the event areas we currently cover in track & field. He brings a wealth of knowledge and a championship pedigree that will help elevate an extremely talented staff."

In the time between his two stints with ART U, Gipson served as a coach/physical education teacher for Champion Schools in Phoenix from 2019 to 2021, a head strength & conditioning coach for D1 Training Gilbert from 2020 to 2022, and most recently became the owner/strength & conditioning coach for his own Gipson Performance LLC from 2022 to today. Throughout his work with all three organizations, Gipson has coached athletes to better themselves in all aspects, continuing to build upon the success he had at Academy of Art.

"I'm thrilled to be back at Academy of Art because I feel like I have unfinished business as a coach," Gipson said. "I'm excited to be back working with Coach LaSure and the rest of the staff as the standard of excellence is something that I love being a part of."

Each of Gipson's three years as an assistant coach for the Urban Knights showcased a collection of highlights. As the baton passed metaphorically and literally from several stellar veterans to many young talents, the 2019 ART U track & field season featured large contingents at both NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Nationals, nine Pacific West Conference champions (including Michane Ricketts in the javelin and Camille Jouanno in the triple jump), three individual NCAA National Champions including Jouanno in the indoor triple jump, and 24 All-America selections. The Knights highlighted their respective indoor and outdoor campaigns with a total of 19 new school records (seven indoor, 12 outdoor) along the way. In terms of team finishes, the men took fifth and the women were 19th at Indoor Nationals then the men were ninth at Outdoor Nationals.

Breaking out with one of its strongest collective campaigns to date, the 2018 Academy of Art track & field season featured the largest number of qualifiers for NCAA Indoor Nationals, 10 Pacific West Conference champions (including Hannah Hensley in the heptathlon and high jump), five individual national titles, and 21 All-America selections (including Ricketts in the indoor long jump). The Knights highlighted their respective indoor and outdoor campaigns with a total of 20 new school records (12 indoor, eight outdoor) along the way. On the men's side specifically, the team finished eighth at Indoor Nationals and seventh at Outdoor Nationals.

In the ART U's 2017 track & field campaign, Gipson debuted with the coaching staff and helped the Knights combine to set a total of 19 new school records (eight indoor, 11 outdoor). Highlights included three NCAA National Championships, 13 total All-Americans across both seasons (including Ricketts and Craig Mattox both in the indoor long jump and Marion Presigny in the pentathlon as well as Hensley in the heptathlon), and the teams' top three finishes at the PacWest Championships where Hensley, the PacWest Field Athlete of the Year, also earned PacWest Most Outstanding Field Athlete of the Meet and Rian Young-Werner captured the conference title in the triple jump. On the men's side specifically, the team finished fifth at Indoor Nationals and 19th at Outdoor Nationals. Gipson's campaign included him being named 2017 USTFCCCA DII West Region Indoor Women's Assistant Coach of the Year.

"I'm just thankful for the opportunity to be able to get back to the sport that I love and has given so much to me," Gipson said. "The goal will always be National Championships, but the work every day is what I look forward to the most. If the work is done the results will surely follow."

Before Academy of Art, Gipson served two seasons as a graduate assistant for University of Central Missouri track & field with his primary responsibilities coaching the high, triple, and long jumpers. He also assisted with the sprints, hurdles, pole vault, and multi event student-athletes. Gipson would coach three National Champions (two in high jump, one in triple jump) in his time with UCM as the Jennies achieved NCAA National Championships in both the 2015 indoor and outdoor seasons on the women's side.

Highlights from the 2016 NCAA DII Outdoor National Championships were 10 All-Americans and a pair of top eight team finishes for the men and women. The Mules and Jennies produced four individual All-Americans along with one relay team as the teams each finished 11th overall.

Prior to UCM, Gipson spent the 2014 season as an assistant coach for Western State, his alma mater. That year, he would guide two student-athletes to the NCAA DII Indoor National Championships.

As a student-athlete at Western State Colorado State University, Gipson was an 11-time All-Conference student-athlete in the high, long, and triple jumps for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. A four-year team captain, Gipson earned All-American honors in the triple jump in 2012.

Gipson graduated from Western State Colorado with a Bachelor of Arts in both Business, with an emphasis in Management, and Accounting, with an emphasis in Professional Accounting.