After an illustrious career developing world-class talent at the high school and junior college levels, Curtis Taylor joined the Oregon coaching staff before the 2014 season, immediately helping the Ducks reach new heights in the sprints, relays and hurdles. He was promoted to Associate Head Coach in March of 2017 after helping lead the Women of Oregon to their seventh indoor national title in an eight-year span and earning USTFCCCA National Women's Assistant Coach of the Year honors.
Taylor's athletes accounted for 51 of the Ducks' meet-record 84 points at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships, and three of his student athletes brought home individual national titles: Hannah Cunliffe (60m), Ariana Washington (200m) and Sasha Wallace (60H). Washington and Cunliffe also finished 1-2 in the 200 meters, the first time a team accomplished that feat since Auburn in 2010.
In his first three years at Oregon, Taylor was a part of eight NCAA team championships as he assisted with Oregon’s sweep of the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships and the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships, along with the men’s first outdoor championships in 30 years in 2014 and their indoor championship defense in 2015. The Ducks swept the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships once again in 2016.
Oregon sprinters and hurdlers recorded 26 All-America performances under Taylor in his first three-pus seasons. Jenna Prandini, the 2015 NCAA Champion in the 100 and runner up in the 200, became the highest individual point scorer at the NCAA Championships in a single season, scoring 49 between the indoor and outdoor championships. The accomplishments led to Prandini winning the 2015 Bowerman Trophy, the second Oregon woman to do so in as many years, following in the footsteps of 2014 winner Laura Roesler.