MARSHALL, Minn. – Southwest Minnesota State University head women's and men's track & field/cross country coach Kirk Naumann has announced Michael Dunn has been named an assistant coach for the SMSU track & field programs.

Dunn, who spent 10 seasons as the head coach of the track & field and cross country teams at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minn., replaces Riley Miessner, who resigned earlier this month to accept the head coaching position of the track & field and cross country teams Briar Cliff University (Iowa).
 
Dunn comes to SMSU after spending the 2025 track & field seasons as an assistant coach/head jumps coach at Concordia College (Moorhead).
 
"Michael comes with a vast amount of experience and success," Naumann said. "I look forward to working with Michael as we continue to grow the program. I'm very excited to add Michael to the staff."
 
Dunn was named the BLC head cross country and track & field coach in 2015. During his tenure, BLC had its first male and female athletes qualify for the Division III indoor and national championships in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, including the program's first All-American in the triple jump.
 
Dunn coached 19 women and four men to all-conference honors in cross country. In track and field, a total of 45 women were crowned conference champions in both indoor and outdoor while 32 men would earn the same distinction. He also had four athletes earn USTFCCCA All-Region honors.
 
During the 2022 track & field season, the BLC women's indoor and outdoor teams both earned second place in the conference meet, while the 2022 women's cross country team completed their best conference finish in program history, taking second place at the conference championships.
 
Prior to BLC, Dunn spent two seasons (2013-15) an assistant coach for both cross country and track and field at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash. He worked with both men's and women's programs and helped coach multiple mid-distance and distance athletes to the NCAA Division I Regional and the first Gonzaga student-athlete to earn NCAA All-American honors.
 
Dunn's coaching experience started in Nanchang, China, as the head track and field coach and teacher at Nanchang Institute of Technology University and led the team to a fifth-place finish at the provincial championship. Following a return to the states, he had coaching stints at Shanley High School and Oak Grove Lutheran High School, in Fargo, N.D.
 
Dunn is a 2011 graduate of Concordia College with a degree in communication studies with a coaching minor. He competed in both cross country and track & field while at Concordia. He earned his master's degree in sports and athletic administration from Gonzaga University in 2015.