Chad Dunham has been named the new men's and women's cross country head coach at SUNY Cortland in an announcement from Director of Athletics Mike Urtz.
 
Dunham previously has served as an assistant coach for the Red Dragons for four seasons from 2022-26. Steve Patrick, who was the head coach for both the cross country and track and field programs, will now serve as Cortland's Director of Cross Country and Track & Field, and he will remain as the Red Dragons' track and field head coach. Dunham will continue in his role as an assistant coach with the track and field teams.
 
"We are pleased to bring on Chad to lead our cross country programs in this newly created position," said Urtz. "We feel his knowledge and experience, with a true focus on our distance running throughout the year, will certainly enhance our student-athletes' experience here at Cortland."
 
As an assistant coach at Cortland, Dunham conducted practices for the track and field distance runners and provided academic monitoring and assistance for the cross country and track and field student-athletes. He also oversaw recruiting responsibilities for the cross country and track and field programs.

In both 2024-25 and 2025-26, Dunham was part of the Cortland staffs that each earned six SUNYAC Coaching Staff of the Year honors. The program won SUNYAC titles in men's and women's cross country, men's and women's indoor track and field, and men's and women's outdoor track and field in each of those school years.
 
"I'm honored to be named the next head coach of cross country at Cortland," said Dunham. "I owe a huge thank you to Mike Urtz, President Bitterbaum, the greater SUNY Cortland Athletics staff, and Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Steve Patrick.
 
"Being an alum and seeing the students who come through Cortland, I'm a major believer in the opportunities our University provides. Being allowed to have a role in Athletics as a part of their Cortland experience is one of the best fortunes of my life, and I look forward to the year ahead!"
 
A Central Square native, Dunham graduated summa cum laude from Cortland in 2020 with a bachelor's degree in history and earned a master's degree in educational leadership from St. Lawrence University in 2022. He served as an assistant coach at St. Lawrence for two years, helping develop national qualifiers in cross country, the 800 meters, and the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
 
Dunham ran for Cortland during the 2019-20 school year. He finished fifth in the White Division of the Lehigh Paul Short Run, 34th at the SUNYAC Cross Country Championships and 67th at the NCAA Atlantic Regionals. Prior to Cortland, Dunham competed at SUNY Oneonta, where he was part of the team's 2016 NCAA qualifying cross country squad.
 
Dunham graduated from Paul V. Moore High School in 2015. He competed in cross country and track and field, and he was a National Honor Society student.