Dave Paulsen enters his fifth season overseeing the men's and women's cross country, distance and middle distance programs at the University of Northern Iowa.

During the 2012 cross country season, Paulsen has coached three women to run times that have landed them in the top ten performances in school history. Scotti Schon posted a 6k time of 21:36 earning her the fourth fastest time at UNI.  Close on her heels were Allison Fick at 21:46 and Hayley Thomas at 21:55 giving them the sixth and eighth spots on the performance list.  On the men's side, Brett Egan had a terrific senior season as he won three out of five races while earning top five finishes in each of the other two competitions. Egan has posted an 8k personal best time during the 2012 season of 24:33 giving him the eighth fastest time in the program's history.

Paulsen directed several Panther student-athletes to new levels of success in the 2011-12 season. In the cross country season, he coached Hayley Thomas to a ninth place finish earning an All-MVC award. Aaron Stockstell clocked the fastest indoor and outdoor 800m times by an MVC athlete in 2012 and qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds. Jill Lageschulte shattered the UNI women's school record in the 3,000m steeplechase by more than 15 seconds.

Under Paulsen's guidance, Holli Hosch won three Missouri Valley Conference 800m titles and established a new MVC all-time outdoor record (2:05.16) at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds where she qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships and U.S. Championships.

"Dave Paulsen is one of the brightest young coaches in the country," UNI head coach Dan Steele said. "Dave is one of those rare coaches whose background is in both the distance events and the long sprints. As a former All-American and UNI graduate, he bleeds purple and gold. That passion carries over into his coaching and makes him a potent recruiter. I feel very excited about the future of our cross country and distance programs knowing Dave is overseeing them."

Since joining UNI, Paulsen has coached 45 All-Missouri Valley Conference performers, 10 conference champions, 10 national qualifiers 3 All-Americans and one second team All-American.  Athletes coached by Paulsen have set five school records as well as two Missouri Valley Conference records.

Prior to joining the Panther staff, Paulsen enjoyed unprecedented success as the head cross country and assistant track and field coach at Central College in Pella, Iowa, from 2006-2008. Prior to Central, Paulsen served as a volunteer coach at UNI for three years.

As a student-athlete for the Panthers from 2000-2003, Paulsen earned All-America honors in 2002 as a member of the UNI distance medley team. Paulsen was a two-time NCAA Division I national meet qualifier, along with being an eight-time all-Missouri Valley Conference performer. He qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 800 meters in 2004, with a personal-best time of 1:47.03.

The Waverly, Iowa, native received his bachelor's degree from UNI in political science in 2004 and earned his master's degree in exercise science from UNI in 2006. He and his wife, Dee, have a son, Caleb, and a daughter, Chloe.