Bio

Mark Emerson begins his second year as head coach of the Butler track and field/cross country programs for the 2025-26 season. Overall it marks Emerson's fifth year with the Grizzlies as he spent 2021-2023 as an assistant coach on staff.

2024 was Emerson's first year as head Track/Cross Country coach. He helped the men's cross country team to a fourth place finish at nationals as well as seeing Emmanuel Otim win the men's Region 6 title and be named an All-American after finishing third at nationals. The men's squad won the Jayhawk East while the women won the Region 6 title and the Jayhawk East title for the first time since 2015. On the track and field side, Emerson saw the men finish third out of 16 at the Region 6 Indoor Championships as Ishmael Acheampong was named the Region 6 Men's High Point Athlete of the Meet for his performance by scoring 22 points across three events. Acheampong was later named the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's NJCAA Central Region Men's Track Athlete of the Year. During the outdoor season, the Butler men finished seventh and the women 10th at the Region 6 Championships. Butler totaled eight All-American performances in the indoor season on the men's side and seven All-Americans in the outdoor season with six men and one female All-American nod

The 2023 cross country teams had success under Emerson.  The men finished second at the Region VI Championships while the women finished fifth. He coached two on the men's side and one on the women's side to All-Region honors. Both teams finished in 11th place at NJCAA Nationals in Huntsville, Alabama with Adem Bouldjadj being named an NJCAA All-American as he placed eighth overall out of 199 runners. Overall, the Grizzlies had seven first place finishes combined on the men's and women's side under Emerson's watch.

In 2022, Emerson led the Grizzly men's cross country squad to a KJCCC East championship and third place finish in Region VI. Emerson helped lead Rodgers Rotich to a second place overall finish at the NJCAA Nationals as he missed being a national champion by just 0.4 seconds.  The Grizzly men finished 10th nationally, with 256 points. They were the third highest Jayhawk Conference team, behind Northwest Tech along with Colby, who were crowned the 2022 Men's National Champions. The women's squad placed 14th nationally.

Most recently, Emerson was an assistant coach at Fort Scott Community College where he helped the Greyhounds to their first national ranking for the men’s and women’s cross country teams in school history. He coached the first All-American in school history in cross country, the first KJCCC Outdoor Championship for men and women in school history and was part of the first indoor conference championship for women in school history. 

Prior to Fort Scott, Emerson was a Graduate Assistant at Waldorf University and a volunteer assistant at Kansas Wesleyan University. 

Emerson, a native of Junction City, KS, is a graduate of Allen Community College and Kansas Wesleyan where he participated in track and field and cross country during his collegiate career. 

“Butler Community College has always had a tradition of excellence," Emerson said. "The Cross Country/Track & Field teams have had previous success and helping contribute to the future of the program is very appealing. Butler is one of the premiere junior colleges in the nation. The school is one that I can get behind and believe is a great place for any student to attend. The community is very supportive of Butler Community College and has drawn me to this area.”

Emerson resides in El Dorado with his dog, Kipp.