Bio

Nile Legania was named the head coach of Dillard's track & field and cross country programs on Sept. 1, 2020.

He had a historic first year at Dillard that saw him lead the school to its first-ever NAIA national championship (4x100 relay), win the GCAC Men's Coach of the Year Honors, led the men to its first GCAC title since 2014, aid the women to a runner-up status at the conference championship, produce a total of 56 All-GCAC track and field selections (32 - men and 24 - women), total five GCAC selections during cross country season (3 - women and 2 - men), plus have two of his women's runners qualify for the NAIA Cross Country Championships.

Legania, a New Orleans native and former multisport collegiate athlete (football and track & field) at Delta State (Mississippi) and Wayne State College (Nebraska), is a 13-year coaching veteran, including 10 years as the head coach track & field coach of Edna Karr High School in New Orleans.

In addition to his work as the head track & field coach, Legania started and has ran the Sprint NOLA Track Club program for the last seven years.

Among the honors that Legania has achieved in his coaching career is being named the 2020 AAU Zone B Coach of the Year, earning six Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSSA) state championships (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019), finishing as the runner-up at the LHSAA Championship four times, totaling 94 district champions, eight Region 3 Champions, 238 LHSAA State Qualifiers, 29 LHSAA State Individual titles,  49 All-Metro performers, 52 All-State performers, 16 Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) performers, three LHSAA 4A Track Outdoor MVPs, a large school track indoor MVP, eight New Balance High School All-Americans, 32 AAU All-Americans, eight AAU National Champions, coaching the AAU Club Championship High School Record Holder in the high jump (Alacia Myles), developing Louisiana’s fastest 4x100 team time by a non-All-Star Relay Team (Louisiana mile split).

Legania is also both USA Track & Field Level 2 certified, USA Track & Field Official certified and USTFCCA Technical certified.

Following his final season of college football at Wayne State, he played professionally in the Arena Football League for the San Angelo Stampede as a defensive back/return specialist before returning home to Louisiana to purse his coaching passion.

The former Statesman earned his bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from Delta State University and a master’s degree in early childhood education from Capella University.

He is married to his wife, Bejide Legania, a former All-American in the long jump at Louisiana Tech. The couple resides in Gretna, La. with their two children, son Nile Jr. and daughter Nia.