Jim Garnham Sr. enters his 11th season as UB’s throws coach. He brings an impressive resume to UB having coached over 35 high school state champions, NCAA All-Americans and NCAA Regional and Championship meet qualifiers. During his time at Buffalo, he has turned the UB throws program into one of the best in the Mid-American Conference. 

Under Garnham’s tenure, the Bulls have competed in postseason competition at the USATF Junior National, ECAC, IC4A and NCAA Championship meets. Nearly all his men’s and women’s throwers have posted league championship, school or personal records. At UB, he has over 40 throwers qualify for indoor or outdoor regional championships and in 2011 was named by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association as its Northeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. Three of his throwers, Rob Golabek, Matt Gac and Becky O’Brien earned NCAA All-America accolades during the 2011 season. In 2010 he guided Kristy Woods to NCAA All-America status. In 2009, Alex Stamatakis won the MAC indoor shot put and finished second in the National Greek 23-and-under Championships. In 2007, Tina Villa won the MAC inddor shot put title while Stamatakis reached the NCAA East Regionals. Garnham coached Sarah Vance to the 2007 indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships as she posted school records in the shot put (52-8.75) and the discus (161-0). Vance was the first UB track and field athlete to qualify in two different events, shot put and hammer (198-1), for the NCAA Outdoor Championship. He also guided Faith Thompson to MAC records in the weight (65-6.75) and hammer (199-6) throws. Thompson also ranked 12th nationally in the hammer and 15th in the weight throw, qualifying for the USATF Indoor and NCAA Outdoor Championships. 

Garnham coached 30 years at the high school level, 10 years at Tonawanda High School and 20 years at Sweet Home High School. As a boys assistant coach at Tonawanda, he coached four state qualifiers and his throwers  set records in the shot put (58-4)and discus (160-11) that still stand after more than three decades. At Sweet Home as a head girls and assistant boys coach he coached 17 state track and field champions and in the last 10 years there, between 1992 through 2001, he coached at least one state champion each year. He coached Stacey Schroeder, who won the High School Indoor National shot put championship (49-6) and Outdoor National discus championship and is still the  New York State discus record holder (172-0), Others under his tutelage include Steve Mesler, an Indoor High School National Pentathlon Champion and member of the USA l bobsled team, two-time olympian Jim Garnham Jr., the former New York State record holder in the pentathlon, Ron Andrews (110 high hurdles) and Jared Vogler (400m hurdles).  

Garnham also brings with him collegiate coaching experience, having served as an assistant at his alma mater, Buffalo State, from 1979-81. While with the Bengals, he coached 17 NCAA Division III All-Americans. His throwers set top marks in the shot put and discus throws that remain school records. 

Off the track, Garnham was a technology instructor in the City of Tonawanda school system, teaching eighth graders for 33 years. 

He earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Buffalo State in 1968 and was a top member of the track and field team. Garnham won the Atlantic Coast NCAA regional championship in the shot put in 1968 and finished fifth in both the javelin and discus throws.