CHICAGO – Loyola Chicago is excited to announce the appointment of alumna Bethany Graham as the new assistant coach for the cross country and track & field programs. A decorated collegiate distance star, Graham returns to Rogers Park after an exceptional running career, featuring multiple All-America and All-Conference honors.
"We are incredibly excited to welcome Bethany back to Loyola as a member of our coaching staff. She has competed at an elite level, understands what it takes to be successful, and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our program," said head coach Gavin Kennedy. "Beyond her accomplishments as an athlete, Bethany is someone who leads by example, builds strong relationships, and genuinely cares about the people around her. I have no doubt she will make an immediate impact on our student-athletes and help us continue to build a championship culture here at Loyola."
Hailing from Aldie, Va., Graham began her coaching career with the Under Armour Mission Run Baltimore Distance professional team in June 2024 before embarking on her fifth year with the Ramblers.
In her graduate year at Loyola, Graham helped lead the Rambler women to back-to-back Atlantic 10 Champions in 2025, earning herself First Team All-Conference after placing seventh overall in the 6K (21:21.0).
Graham closed out her collegiate career at the NCAA Midwest Regional, where Loyola's women's team finished 11th overall out of 32 teams in the 6K Championship. She placed 60th (21:50.2) among 229 runners.
Prior to Loyola, Graham had a stellar undergraduate career at Furman University, where she cemented herself as one of the premier distance runners in program history. She earned consecutive cross country All-America honors in both 2021 and 2022. Graham placed 27th overall (20:04) in the '22 NCAA Cross Country Championships then followed it up with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Region Championships (20:11.11), earning herself an All-Region selection.
At the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships, Graham had a 40th-place finish with a personal-best 6K time of 19:57.6. She captured back-to-back Southern Conference (SoCon) Cross Country Runner of the Year (2021, 2022) after winning the 5k (16:22.23) and leading the Paladins to their tenth-straight conference title in '22.
On the track, she was another dominant force, earning gold with her team at the 2022 SoCon Indoor Championships, then individually winning the league's 5,000 meters outdoor title and a qualification at the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
In the classroom, Graham excelled as a 3x USTFCCCA All-Academic Team member and a SoCon Academic Honor Roll student all four years.
"I'm so grateful and excited to be returning to Loyola in this coaching role. This program, this place, and the people here mean a lot to me. I've seen firsthand how special this program is, and I'm incredibly excited for the opportunity to help build on its success alongside such an incredible staff and dedicated student-athletes," said Graham. "There is so much to look forward to in the future of Loyola cross country and track, and I can't wait to be a part of it."
At Furman, Graham completed her bachelor's of science in Health Sciences and received a master's degree in Innovation and Leadership. She's currently pursuing a master's of science in Exercise Science at Loyola.
