Aug. 14, 2007

LAS VEGAS - UNLV track and field rounded out its coaching staff with the hiring of Tamara Ards, Rebel head coach Yvonne Scott-Williams announced on Tuesday.

Ards joins the UNLV women's track and field staff after serving as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan where she worked primarily with the women's sprints, jumps, hurdles and multi-event athletes as well as handling recruiting efforts. Prior to working at EMU she was the track and field coordinator at Louisiana State University during the 2005-06 campaign, where she was responsible for all facets of the track department's recruiting efforts, fund-raising, travel arrangements and meet management.

"Coach Ards is everything I am looking for in an assistant coach," Scott-Williams said. "She is a great coach, recruiter and role model for student-athletes. Her dedication and commitment to excellence is unquestionable and I am confident that with her assistance we will take UNLV track and field to another level."

Scott-Williams and Ards know each other quite well, as they were teammates at the University of Colorado for four years, with the pair helping the Buffalos win the Big 8 Conference championship in 1996. Ards spent four years on the Colorado track and field coaching staff (2002-05), working with both the men's and women's programs.

Ards earned All-American honors on the 1600-meter relay team in 1996 and was also a Big 8 Academic All-American four times (1992-95). Ards still holds the school record in the 400 meters and was the team captain from 1992-96.

She earned her bachelor's degree in journalism in 1995 and spent seven years in that field before entering coaching in 2002 at her alma mater.