FAYETTEVILLE - Travis Geopfert, Arkansas’ men’s track and field coach for Coach Chris Bucknam from the summer of 2009-2018 is returning to Arkansas as men’s field events coach after two years as the men’s and women’s field events coach at Tennessee.

Geopfert previously had assisted Bucknam as field events coach at Northern Iowa University and head coached NIU the first year that Bucknam head coached Arkansas men’s cross and country track for the 2008-2009 academic year and jointly coached decathletes with sprints coach Doug Case at both NIU and Arkansas.

“I’m thrilled he’s coming back,” Bucknam confirmed Thursday.  “We have a great understanding of each other and there’s a lot of trust there.  I’m happy he’s coming to Arkansas. I’m happy he’s coming home. It’s going to feel right.”

Geopfert coached Razorbacks  compiling 11 individual NCAA championships including long jumper-sprinter Jarrion Lawson, three at one NCAA Outdoor, decathlete Kevin Lazas, long jumper Alain Bailey and triple jumper Clive Pullen, and helped recruit Omar McLeod, a NCAA hurdles champion and 2016 Olympics gold medalist and at Tennessee coached high jumper Daryl Sullivan who will represent the U.S. in this summer’s Olympic Games.