University of Minnesota Duluth men's and women's track and field and cross country head coach Karly Brautigam, announced the addition of Brette Jensen to the Bulldog staff on Wednesday. Jensen who spent the past year as the assistant men's and women's cross country and track and field coach/coordinator of operations at NCAA Division I Drake University, will become the head men's and women's cross country coach and assistant men's and women's track and field coach at UMD.  

"I could not be more excited to add Brette as a head coach for our distance programs," said Brautigam. "Her body of work as an student-athlete, coach, and director of operations is only going to add to and elevate our rich tradition of success in distance and middle distance. Brette brings Division I success, and a philosophy that speaks to the heart of what we do in centering and uplifting the overall student-athlete experience." 

While at Drake, Jensen assisted with the development of student-athletes in cross country and track and field as well supported team travel and logistics. Jensen was also one of the assistant directors for the 2021 Drake Relays in Des Moines, IA which features many of the top high school, college, and professional athletes in track and field. 

"I'm very grateful and excited to get started working with the distance student-athletes here at UMD," said Jensen. "I'd like to especially thank Karly Brautigam, Jay Finnerty (Associate AD), and Josh Berlo (Athletic Director) for this amazing opportunity. This team has made great strides and I can't wait to continue to help elevate both the cross country and track and field programs." 

Prior to Drake, Jensen was a volunteer assistant cross country and track and field coach at her alma mater, the University of Northern Iowa, while also competing post-collegiately. While a student-athlete at NCAA Division I Northern Iowa, she was a three-time Missouri Valley Conference Champion and recorded personal bests of 2:04 in the 800m and 4:22 in the 1,500m. Jensen also helped lead the Panthers to the MVC cross country title in 2016. She was also the epitome of a student-athlete as she was the first Panther to earn the MVC's prestigious Elite 17 award, given to the student-athlete with the highest grade point average at an MVC conference championship.
 
A native of Epworth, Iowa, Jensen graduated from Western Dubuque High School and finished her prep career with four different school records (4X800, distance medley, 4X400 and the 800 meters).  

Coaching statistics @ Drake

• 2020 (competed in 2021 due to COVID-19) Cross Country - assisted with both men's and women's 3rd place MVC team finish with 6 All-Conference Honorees
• 2021 Indoor Track and Field - 2 MVC Conference Champions, 3 MVC All-Conference Honorees, 3 MVC Conference scorers, and 1 NCAA Division I All-American
• 2021 Outdoor Track and Field - Part of 3rd place MVC men's team finish, 3 MVC Conference Champions, 5 MVC All-Conference Honorees, 4 MVC conference scorers, and 2 NCAA Division I All-Americans
• 2021 Cross Country - assisted with men's MVC conference championship and women's 5th place team finish, 5 MVC All-Conference Honorees, 1 MVC Honorable Mention All-Conference, 2 All-Region Student-Athletes, and advanced 2 to NCAA Division I National Championships