TWIN FALLS, Idaho – The College of Southern Idaho (CSI) Athletic Department announced Monday that CSI Head Cross Country and Distance Track Coach Lindsey Anderson is leaving CSI to become the Head Cross Country Coach/Assistant Track Coach at the University of Missouri.
"It's difficult to express what the College of Southern Idaho means to me," said Anderson. "I have loved every second of my time at CSI! It is so hard to say goodbye to something I love so much and am so proud of. Now I get to start a new journey with an amazing opportunity for me and my family. I am so excited for this next step to see what I can do at the University of Missouri!"
Anderson was hired in 2017 to resurrect the dormant CSI Cross Country program and found immediate success, leading the Golden Eagle women to a fourth-place finish and the men to a sixth-place finish at the NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in 2018. That year, she also coached the men's individual national champion. Her teams have consistently placed in the top ten throughout her time at CSI, with the men finishing second in the nation in 2020 and the women winning the NJCAA National Championship in 2021. During her tenure at CSI Anderson was named U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) West Region Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year (2017), USTFCCCA Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year (2018), USTFCCCA West Region Women's Coach of the Year (2020), and, in 2021, she was named the NJCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Coach of the Year.
"Although it was before my time at CSI, when the College decided to resurrect the distance track and cross country program in 2017, I can't image that we could have chosen better than Coach Anderson," said CSI President Dean Fisher. "She has returned the program to its elite status and has done so with grace and humility. We could not be more proud of Coach Anderson and what she has done at CSI. This is a huge loss for CSI, but a huge opportunity for Coach Anderson and her family, and a huge win for the University of Missouri and its student-athletes. We wish her and her family the best."
"Lindsey was able to quickly establish a foundation and positive culture for the program in which her student athletes thrived," added Joel Bate, CSI Athletic Director. "They were not only good on the track but also had positive results in the classroom.  The program is in great shape and ready for someone to come in and continue the growth and direction of the program that Lindsey established."
CSI will immediately begin a national search for Anderson's replacement.
Prior to coming to CSI, Anderson served as an assistant track coach at Weber State and as a volunteer assistant track coach at Cal State Bakersfield. She and her husband Mark have two children, a daughter, Peyton (10) and a son, Avett (7).