Rob Whitten begins his fourth season in 2011-12 as assistant coach with the University of Rhode Island men's cross country and track & field.

In this role, Whitten currently works with URI's jumpers and multi-event athletes. He has his USA Track & Field level II certification in jumps and combined events.

Since arriving in Kingston, Whitten has helped develop 13 A-10 Champions and eight runners-up, 28 All-New England finishes and three New England Championships, six All-East/All-IC4A selections, three A-10 records and two school records.

Prior to coming to Kingston, Whitten served as an assistant track & field coach at the University of Hartford for two years.

In 2008, Whitten coached UH's first two America East individual champions and first-ever NCAA regional qualifier. During his two-year tenure, 48 men's and women's indoor and outdoors school records were broken.

Before his time at Hartford, he spent two years as a graduate assistant coach at New Hampshire, assisting with the jumps and multi-event athletes. He was part of the 2006 America East Outdoor Track & Field Coaching Staff of the Year.

In 2006, he received his master's degree in kinesiology from New Hampshire, where he graduated from in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. While with the Wildcats, he was a five-time all-conference and two-time All-New England performer in the pole vault and multi-events.

He was a high school New England champion in the pole vault and is the former state of Maine indoor and outdoor pole vault record holder.