CORVALLIS, Ore. – For the third time in five years, Bushnell is the proud home of the Cascade Collegiate Conference Les Schwab Coach of Character. Head Cross Country Coach and Director of Track & Field Kyle Will was announced as the recipient of the 2025 award by the CCC offices on Wednesday.
In two short years, Kyle Will has completely turned around the team culture of four teams and over 60 athletes under his leadership. He is recruiting students who are thriving under Bushnell’s Tri-Athlete Model (equal focus on success in academics, character development, and on the field of play). Team sizes, GPAs, chapel passing rates, and retention have dramatically increased under his leadership. he is rebuilding the programs and doing so genuinely with leadership focusing on the whole student. Bushnell cross country and track have students from all walks of life and under his leadership, care, and love, all of our athletes have the ability to thrive, thanks in large part to Coach Will’s humble leadership.
Coach Will has made servant leadership a hallmark of the cross country and track programs. Our athletic department expectations are for our student-athletes to serve at all school-sanctioned programming such as Embrace The Community Day, the Food For Lane County canned food drive, and our Christmas Adopt-a-Family, along with at least one separate team-driven service project. Track & Field goes above and beyond those requirements, with the team members averaging over 20 hours of community service each. The team volunteered on campus move-in day, helping first-time collegiate students move into their dorm rooms. They created a “feed the community” day in which they spent time in Eugene’s homeless community passing out food, water, and emergency blankets. The team also volunteered at both the Eugene Marathon and the Run to Stay Warm 5k/10k race, serving as course marshals and at the finish line. Team service is a year-round affair for the Beacons as they worked last summer with a rotation of 3-4 athletes and coaches, serving at the Lane County Food Bank in July and August.
As part of Bushnell’s “Embrace the Community Day” in the fall, the team volunteered across three different organizations. Part of the team worked at Everyone Village, a dynamic transitional shelter program for people experiencing homelessness. There they did some work in their community garden and helped with weatherproofing tiny homes. Another part of the team worked sorting clothing donations at the Brighter Side Giving Store, run by Every Child Lane County This boutique story experience gives children in foster care an opportunity to “shop” and assemble outfits that they like, feel comfortable in, and get to take home at no cost. Others worked at the Springfield Youth Gardens, doing general gardening work and vegetable harvesting. The team was also a key contributor to a FOOD For Lane County canned food drive, which collected over 2000 pounds of non-perishables for the most needy in our community.
Coach Will’s impact on the Bushnell community goes beyond just his own team, as an instructor in the Athletic Management Master’s program. There, he has made a huge impact on student-athletes and non-athletes alike, quickly becoming a campus favorite professor.
Athletic Director Corey Anderson said, “Clearly, Coach Will has made an immediate and positive impact on our campus and with our Cross Country and Track & Field teams since his arrival less than two years ago. Kyle’s steadfast commitment to his faith while creating a team built around the NAIA’s Champions of Character model (Integrity, Respect, Responsibility, Sportsmanship and Servant Leadership) allows for growth in our team’s academic success, athletic performance and commitment toward being a strong community member within and off campus. I feel like this journey with Coach Will has just begun. I look forward to many more years of growth and excellence through his faith-filled leadership.”
Coach Will joins 2021 recipient Chad Meadors (Women’s Basketball) and 2024 recipient Tommy Richards (Baseball) as the third Bushnell coach to be selected.