The longest-tenured coach on staff, Scott Etherton has been an assistant coach at Nebraska Wesleyan since 1987, working primarily with the hurdlers.
Known as one of the best hurdle coaches in the country, Etherton’s athletes in the hurdles and horizontal jumps have claimed six NCAA national titles and 100 All-American honors. In 2003, he was recognized as a winner of the AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year Award.
The year 2023 was a historic year for the hurdle crew at NWU. Indoors, the men’s 60H crew had the #1 event squad ranking in the country. This included coach Etherton’s sixth coaching national title when his son, Eli, won the national title in the 60 hurdles at the NCAA Indoor National Championship. Eli also claimed the Conference title in the 60H. His hurdlers claimed six all-time top 10 performances including the school record in the 60H with Eli’s time of 7.99.
A 1987 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan, Etherton is one of the most decorated track athletes in school history, winning 10 All-America awards during his career at NWU. He won national titles in the 60-yard high hurdles at the 1986 NAIA Indoor Championships and in the 110-meter high hurdles at the 1987 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships.
In addition to coaching, Etherton is the Director of the Mental Health Crisis Center. He is married to Kassie and has three children, Olivia, Eli (a member of the NWU track team), and Alec.
