Eric Heins served as Northern Arizona’s head cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field coach from 2007-2016… He led the Lumberjacks to a Division I Cross Country National Championship title in 2016, becoming the first non-football team in Big Sky Conference history to win a national championship… For his efforts, Heins was named 2016 Men’s National Cross Country Coach of the Year… That season started a near decade of dominance for the Lumberjacks, as they won six National Championships in seven seasons from 2016-22 under the direction of Michael Smith, who took over for Heins following his departure… During his tenure the Lumberjacks had nine top-10 national team finishes and coached 55 All-Americans… He claimed 28 Big Sky Conference championship team titles as a head coach and was named Coach of the Year 27 different occasions… Heins, who stepped away from coaching for a few years after the 2016 cross country season, returned to the profession in 2019 and currently serves as the head cross country coach at Indiana University.