MONTICELLO, Ark. -- Coach Peyton Higgins joins the University of Arkansas at Monticello Cross Country staff as head coach ahead of the 2026-27 academic year, announced by UAM Athletics on Thursday.

"We're extremely excited about Peyton joining our coaching staff at UAM." said UAM athletics Director Hud Jackson. "He brings a lot of experience in regards to being a former student athlete and understanding the demands of that. We really want to push our cross-country program forward and we believe Peyton will be a big part of that. I do wanna say we appreciate Jacob Chissom for his hard work this past year and we know that Peyton will continue to bring the energy that will make our cross-country program competitive."

In addition to his new coaching duties, Coach Higgins currently serves as an Exercise Science Instructor at UAM.

A former student-athlete at the University of Montevallo, Higgins competed in track & field throughout his collegiate career. While at Montevallo, he was a multi-event athlete, competing in the decathlon and heptathlon, where he excelled in the javelin and pole vault. Higgins excelled both athletically and academically, earning College Sports Communicators (CSC) Men's Track & Field Academic All-District honors and recognition on the Gulf South Conference Academic Honor Roll after maintaining a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade point average.

In addition to his athletic accomplishments, Higgins served as a graduate assistant in Montevallo's media relations department, where he gained experience in sports communications, photography, sports writing, and game day operations.

Higgins started his undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Commerce (Now East Texas A&M University), but completed his bachelor's degree in Exercise Science at UAM before earning a master's degree in Exercise and Nutrition Science from Montevallo.