Bio

James Akita was named head coach of the University of Wisconsin Platteville Cross Country Men’s and Women’s teams in June of 2023. Akita becomes just the second coach in over thirty years to take over the helm of the Pioneers' nationally established programs following the retirement of Tom Antczak after 31 seasons.

Coach Akita’s first season as head coach saw the Men’s team finish 4th place at the WIAC Championships and 7th place at the NCAA North Regional Championships, the Pioneers best finish since 2016. Caden Schneider qualified for his first NCAA Cross Country Championships where he placed 56th overall. On the Women’s side, the ladies finished 7th at the WIAC Championships and 17th at the NCAA North Regional Championships.

During the Track & Field season, Coach Akita had distance athletes reach Top 10 marks in numerous distance events both during the Indoor and Outdoor season. Caden Schneider would break the Steeplechase school record, running 8:57.92 and qualify for the NCAA National Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Caden would go to finish 10th overall.

The Elmhurst, Illinois native brings with him over two decades of coaching experience at the NCAA Division III level. He has coached over a dozen national qualifiers in cross country and track, producing eight All-Americans, including Brian McConnell who finished 2nd in the nation. Coach Akita spent 14 years as the Head Cross Country and Track & Field coach at Elmhurst College.

Through his career, Coach Akita has had numerous teams ranked nationally in Cross Country and his student-athletes have produced over 100 all-conference accolades. Both his Men’s and Women’s teams have been ranked in the top 25 nationally in team GPA and have earned dozens of USTFCCCA academic honors.

Akita earned his undergraduate degree while competing for the Elmhurst College Bluejays. He was a two-year team captain of both the cross country and track and field teams. As a student-athlete he earned eleven All-CCIW honors, was a four-time NCAA DIII Track and Field National Qualifier and set five school records.

Earning degrees in History and Secondary Education from Elmhurst, Akita received a Master of Arts in Teaching from Rockford College. Outside of coaching, Akita enjoys running, gaming and golf.