Makiba Batten was hired to the position of head track & field and cross country coach on Aug. 26, 2019.
Batten joined the Broncos with an extensive coaching resume and recently spent six years as an assistant coach at Wayne State University. At WSU she produced one All-American, two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions and seven All-GLIAC selections. Batten’s other duties included coordinating recruiting and handling program travel operations and administrative duties.
Prior to Wayne State, Batten coached at Marygrove College in 2013 and Saginaw Valley State from 2010-13, where she helped the team produce
20 All-Americans and 126 All-American Academic honors.
Batten has also been a long-time coach on the AAU circuit and as a professional coach. She recently coached Chioma Onyekwere to a gold medal in the discus at the 2018 African Games. She also coached Nia Henderson to the 2016 Olympic Trials in the shot put.
Batten competed in the throws at Florida State University from 1999-2004. She was a NCAA All-American in the discus in 2000, participated in the USA Olympic Trials qualifier in 2004 and was ranked in the top 20 in the discus in 2003. She qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2000, 2001 and 2003, also winning the shot put both at the Indoor and Outdoor ACC Championships in 2000. With Batten’s help, the Seminoles won the 2000 ACC Outdoor Championship. She also set the program record in the discus in 2003, which held until 2014.
Batten graduated with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from FSU in 2003 and earned a master’s degree in sports management from Chadron State College in 2006.
