Ball State University Athletics
Staff Directory
- Title:
- Assistant Track & Field Coach
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A proven talent developer and recruiter, Chris Riggs, joined the Ball State staff as the Assistant Track and Field Coach in October 2023.
With over 20 years of collegiate coaching experience, Coach Riggs leads the multi-event, jumping and throwing athletes here in Muncie.
In the 2026 season, Ball State high jumpers led by Riggs ranked 11th in the nation for event squads. Malina Miller and Nina Garner qualified for the NCAA East Prelims in the high jump as well. With the help of Riggs, Kenli Nettles qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships Finals in Eugene, Oregon, where she finished 16th in the heptathlon with 5703 points, good for #2 all-time at Ball State and 2nd Team All-American.
In 2025, Riggs helped Jenelle Rogers finish 7th in the pentathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Outdoors, Kenli Nettles won the MAC Championships heptathlon and qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
For the 2024 season, Jenelle Rogers finished 2nd in the Pentathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships and 4th in the Heptathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with numerous PRs in all events, including 4430 in the Pentathlon, which stands as an all-time MAC record. Rogers also competed at the USA T&F Olympic Trials in Oregon finishing 10th and qualifying for the Thorpe Cup in Germany—where she set a Thorpe Cup record in the shot put.
In his time at Ball State, Coach Riggs has managed to develop four NCAA All-Americans, five NCAA Championship qualifiers, three NCAA East Prelims qualifiers, nine individual conference champions, two school records and 13 top-5 performances in Bal State program history.
Prior to joining the staff in Muncie, Riggs spent the 11 years working as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Grand Canyon University where he specialized in jumps. He helped lead the GCU men's track team to three consecutive outdoor Western Athletic Conference championships, along with seven straight victories in the indoor WAC Championships.
Since the 2018 season when the 'Lopes transitioned to NCAA DI, Riggs helped 31 student-athletes achieve WAC Championship titles in events such as the long, triple, and high jump. In addition, Riggs helped four athletes qualify for the NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Championships and 17 qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary round.
Riggs, who earned his MBA from GCU in 2019 while also coaching, mentored his student-athletes to program records in all six jumping events (men's & women's high jump, long jump and triple jump) during his time in Phoenix.
While GCU was competing at the Division II level, Riggs coached five athletes to eight All-American performances in 2013. That same year he was named the USTFCCCA Indoor West Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year.
Prior to joining the 'Lopes staff, Riggs spent two seasons as the head coach for the Windward School in Los Angeles, California. Under his supervision, the sprinting program set program records in every sprint and relay event.
Riggs worked as the decathlon coach at UCLA for three years before moving to Windward School. During his time with the Bruins, Riggs helped coach Trent Perez to a 7,315-point, eight-place finish at the 2009 USATF U20 National Championships.
Before his stint with the Bruins, Riggs spent three years coaching sprints, relays and jumps at Santa Monica Community College. Along with coaching track events, he worked as the assistant cross country coach. Throughout his time with SMCC, Riggs helped several athletes achieve conference titles and CCC Championship qualifying marks.
Riggs began his coaching career at his alma mater Colorado State, assisting with the sprints, jumps and multi-events, mentoring a pair of NCAA qualifiers.
He was a highly successful athlete for the Rams, finishing his career as a three-time conference champion and nine-time All-Mountain West honoree. He qualified for the Midwest regionals four times and was a 2003 USATF Championship qualifier in the 200m.
Riggs graduated from Colorado State in 2004 with his bachelor's in speech communications. He also holds the USTFCCCA Strength & Conditioning Certification.
