Candy Young Sanders has served as an assistant director of athletics and senior woman administrator for the university’s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics since July 2008. She also served as DSU’s acting director of athletics during the 2008-09 school year. 

In addition, she is in her fourth season as DSU’s women’s cross county/track & field head coach.

Sanders is a member of the Delaware State University Long-Range Strategic Planning Monitoring Committee, and serves as chairperson of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Woman-of-the-Year Committee.

Since arriving at Delaware State, Sanders has guided three performers to NCAA East Regional competition. Nekisha Franklin competed in the 2007 and 2009 East Regional in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. In 2008, Franklin qualified for the East Regional in 100. Cuquie Melville competed in the 2007 and '08 NCAA Regional in the 400-meter hurdles. In additional, Melville captured the MEAC Indoor Pentathlon and Outdoor Heptathlon championships in each of the last two years. Jasmine Rogers was a 2007 NCAA Regional qualifier in the 100-meter hurdles.

The former world-class athlete has nearly 20 years of Division I coaching experience.

Prior to arriving at Delaware State, Sanders worked with two-time Olympic gold-medalist Roger Kingdom as his assistant men’s and women’s track & field/cross country coach at California University of Pennsylvania in 2005. In addition to her coaching duties, Sanders was recruiting coordinator for the program.

From 2002-04, Sanders was an assistant men’s and women’s track & field/cross country coach at the University of Pittsburgh. While there, she helped lead the women’s team to three Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) titles. In addition, the Panthers produced two NCAA championship qualifiers, eight NCAA regional qualifiers and 24 Big East championship qualifiers during her tenure.

Sanders also recruited four nationally ranked high school athletes to the Pittsburgh program.

The previous seven years (1994-2001), Sanders was an assistant men’s and women’s coach at The Ohio State University. While at OSU, she coached Donna Merriman to NCAA championships in the indoor and outdoor hurdles. Sanders also helped produce 12 All-Americas and several record holders. While at Ohio State, she also served as Head Coach of the 1997 USA World University Team and was an executive board member for USA Track & Field.

From 1989-92, Sanders was an assistant men’s and women’s coach at Seton Hall University. She helped lead the Pirate women to a Big East Championship and trained several All-Americas.

Sanders is a member of the United States Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association Strategic Planning Committee, and previously served on the executive committee for USA Track & Field for eight years.

Before embarking on her coaching career, Sanders was internationally known as a record-setting hurdler.

A 100-meter hurdler on the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team, she also holds two indoor world records and a Junior American record. In addition, Sanders is a two-time National Indoor Champion, four-time NCAA indoor champion and eight-time NCAA All-America.

Sanders earned a B.A. in biological education from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, N.J., in 1985, and a master’s in sports management from Delaware State last year.

In 1979, she was the Sports Illustrated National High School Athlete-of-the-Year.

Sanders was a 2008 inductee into the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletics Hall-of-Fame.

Candy and her husband Michael Curtis Sanders have two children, Stefani, 17, and Mykele, 12.