The Johns Hopkins Department of Athletics debuted its Faculty-Coach initiative during the 2025-26 academic year. The program is designed to engage faculty members and create meaningful relationships and community between academic affairs and athletics by serving in a mentoring and supportive role of JHU's scholar-athletes.
 
Faculty Coaches will serve as honorary members of the coaching staff and act as an additional support person for scholar-athletes on the team.  They are available to answer academic questions and help direct scholar-athletes, particularly first year students, to the many resources available to all Johns Hopkins students.
 
The initial two-year commitment, which comes with an option to extend, provides the faculty member the opportunity to attend as many games and practices as their schedule allows, to watch games from the sideline/bench area, and to attend team-specific events, including end-of-year banquets and awards ceremonies.
 
Throughout the 2026-27 academic year, HopkinsSports.com will utilize a Q&A format to allow fans to learn more about a team's designated Faculty-Coach.  Today, we introduce Joshua Reiter, the Faculty-Coach for the Blue Jay Men's & Women's Cross Country and Track Teams.

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Name:  Joshua J. Reiter
 
Faculty-Coach Team:  Cross Country and Track and Field
 
Alma Mater:  Johns Hopkins University
 
Position/Title at Johns Hopkins:  Senior Lecturer – Department of Computer Science
 
Year at Johns Hopkins: Depends on how you count it. I was here for 4 years as an undergrad, then several years for my part-time doctoral degree, but if the question is how long have I been on faculty – since 1996 … so I guess that makes it 30 years.
 
Tell us a little about your own athletic background:  Did not compete at the college level, but have been an avid tennis player, skier (snow), distance runner (over 20 marathons), swimmer, and have even taken lessons in flying trapeze (seriously) and I use the Rec Center for rock climbing/bouldering (basically I am happy to try any sport – at least once)
 
What is your favorite sport:  Coach George Kennedy once told me how his daughter answered that question and I will answer it the same way – it's the sport I am doing at the moment. I really like being active and participating in life. I don't believe life is a spectator sport (although I do enjoy watching sports too) So if I am running that is my favorite, if I am playing tennis, that is my favorite…etc, etc.
 
How did you become involved in the Johns Hopkins Athletics Faculty-Coach program:  More than 20 years ago, Bobby Benson and Adam Doneger were in my class, which took place Friday mornings at 9am. Each class they arrived before I did; I saw coach Pietramala one afternoon and told him how I admired their commitment. I told him most times people tell coaches bad things about their athletes so I wanted to share good news. We got to know each other and eventually he asked me to be his faculty advisor for the team.  Most recently Bobby Van Allen asked me to be the faculty coach for cross county and track and field since we have chatted about running for several years and I have had his athletes in my class.
 
While the program is still in its infancy, tell us about your experience working with your team thus far:  I have talked to the cross country and track and field teams to introduce myself but hope to do some of the same things with coach Van Allen that I previously did with men's lacrosse.
 
What has most surprised you, if anything, about working with and meeting the coaching staff and athletes on your team:  Not a surprise really, since I have been on BJU and other faculty/athlete committees over the years, but just how genuinely nice everyone is and how hard working they are (both coaches and athletes).  It is not easy being a student-athlete and I am amazed at how the students do well in both sports and academics.
 
As the faculty-coach for the team, what is your goal or what do you hope to accomplish: 
I want the athletes to see that faculty do support the teams. They see me on my "turf" in the classroom and I want them to see me on their "turf" outside the classroom to see that faculty do take an interest and support their endeavors.
 
Either since you assumed this role or before that time, what is your most memorable Johns Hopkins Athletics experience:  It had to be the semis/finals in 2005 in Phildelphia with the lacrosse team and then again in Baltimore for 2007 against Duke. Games were so close and so memorable. It was great to see my student-athletes performing at such a high level under tremendous pressure. What is also memorable is having the students know I support them at their events over the years. I hope to be able to make the same kinds of memories with the CC and Track and Field teams.
 
If you have had the opportunity to have scholar-athletes in your class (from your team or others), please describe your experience with them as students:  They all have been wonderful to have in class. Obviously they are all different, but I understand the pressures they are under from both an academic and athletic perspective. They represent Johns Hopkins outside the walls of Charles and University. Not many other students do that and for many who watch the sport – it is the only thing they will ever know about JHU. I admire how they are able to represent Hopkins so well.
 
What would you tell faculty members who are not involved about this program: 
It is so rewarding to watch your student-athletes compete at the highest levels and I think they really enjoy having faculty care enough to come to their events.
 
Tell us something about yourself that not many people are aware of or that you think people would find interesting: 
So many things – I am a distance runner (have run over 20 marathons), I am one of the few remaining participants who have been a part of each Baltimore Running Festival since its inception in 2001 (I haven't always run the full marathon but have run at least one of the races each year).  I coordinate the pace groups for the Baltimore Marathon (and I pace several distance races each year). I have taken lessons in Flying Trapeze (I even have video!). At the start of each semester I Rap my introduction (I have video) and for my Human Computer Interaction class, for the lecture on Dark Patterns (those things websites get you to do, you may not have wanted to have done, e.g., sign you up for something but make it hard to cancel), I change the topic to Dark Arts and I dress up as Prof Snape (Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor) and my Course Assistants dress up as students from Hogwarts, including Harry Potter and I lecture on the Dark Arts (Dark Patterns) and how to defend against them.