University of Detroit Mercy Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Guy Murray '89 added a well-known coach to his staff in veteran Calvin Johnson in August of 2023. He is a United States Track and Field Academy Certified Coach.
This past season, he coached the sprint-hurdles-horizontal jumps group to an impressive 72 PR's indoors and a more impressive 84 PR's during the outdoor campaign. At the Horizon League Outdoor Championships, the men and women in his training group garnered a combined 26 PR's. Indoors, the women established a Titan Record in the 4x200 relay (1:44.84) on a 200m flat track. In addition, Freshman Meghan Koss established an indoor Titan Record in the 200m (24.78). At the conclusion of the year, Johnson's training group posted 20 All-Time top-five performances and 13 All-Time top 10 efforts.
In his first season in 2023-24, athletes in his training group achieved 23 PRs during the indoor season and 28 during the outdoor campaign. In addition, five Detroit Mercy Top 5 all-time marks were recorded.
Johnson spent the past 35 years as a track and field head coach at Renaissance, Southfield and Berkley High School, where he won a state championship, saw over 100 student-athletes earn All-State, more than 50 Academic All-State and over 35 that have competed at the collegiate level.
"I am excited to add a talented coach such as Calvin to the staff," said coach Murray. "His great experience has him well suited for a new challenge of NCAA Division I track and field. He will build on our great tradition of developing our student-athletes to succeed on the highest level as both students and athletes."
At Renaissance High School from 2016-2023, he won a state championship with the girls in 2022 and a runner-up effort in 2019, 2021 and 2023. He was tabbed the MITCA 2022 Girls Division I Coach of the Year and the MITCA 2022 Regional Coach of the Year. He led the girl's team to six straight city Championship titles in cross country and track and field and also saw athletes set MHSAA records in the 200-meters and 4x100 and 4x200-meter relays.
"I am excited to be joining the Titan Family under the leadership of my friend of 24 years in head coach Guy Murray," said Johnson. "I'm confident that together, we can do some special things with the Titan track and field program".
At Southfield from 1998-2015, he helped the girl's team to numerous top-five finishes in the state was the Oakland County Coach of the Year in 2000. He guided athletes to MHSAA records in the 400m and high jump.
His first high school stop was at Berkley from 1988-1997, where he coached multiple state championship qualifiers and league champions in the sprints, hurdles and high jump. During this same period, he also coached 1992 Olympic 4x400 gold medalist and 1995 400m World Indoor Champion Darnell Hall, who was his co-head coach at Renaissance.
A native of Augusta, Georgia, Johnson was the state champion and 300m hurdle record holder as a prep and a standout student-athlete at South Carolina State, where he won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title in the 110-meter hurdles in 1979.
Johnson earned his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology from South Carolina State in 1982 and a master's in Industrial Technology from Eastern Michigan University in 1986.
