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Tom Raunig begins his 21st year of coaching cross country in 2007, his 12th year at Montana. In his previous 20 years, Raunig has coached five All-Americans, including two NCAA runner-ups, five Big Sky Conference individual champions and 29 All-Big Sky Conference runners. He is a two-time conference coach of the year.
Raunig's cross country coaching career began at Montana State, where he coached the MSU men's team for eight seasons (1987-94). He led the Bobcats to two second-place finishes ('88, '92) and a Big Sky title in 1993, for which he was named the league's coach of the year.
Shannon Butler won back-to-back Big Sky titles in 1989 and 1990 and finished second at the NCAA championships in 1990 after placing seventh in 1989. Raunig would continue coaching Butler, and in 1992 he won the USA Track and Field Cross Country Championships.
Raunig coached at Division III Upper Iowa in 1995 and was named the Iowa Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
Raunig returned to his alma mater prior to the 1996 cross country season.
In 10 seasons he has led the men's and women's cross country teams to five top-three Big Sky finishes and has produced 19 All-BSC performers.
His 2000 women's team finished second at the Big Sky championships, with Sabrina Monro and Heather Anderson finishing first and second overall.
Raunig coached both the men's and women's individual champions in 1999 when Monro won the first of her two titles and Jesse Barnes won the men's race.
Montana has had three All-Americans since 2000, with Monro finishing second at the NCAA championships in 2000 and Antony Ford finishing 16th in 2002 and 26th in 2003.
A graduate of Havre (Mont.) High, Raunig ran cross country at Montana, finishing eighth at the 1979 Big Sky meet and second in 1980. He placed eighth at the 1980 NCAA regional, helping the Griz to a third-place team finish.
Also a success on the UM track team, Raunig was an All-American in the 10,000 meters in 1982 and continues to hold the school record of 28:40.24 in that event.
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