Women’s Head Track and Field Coach Myrtle Chester (Ferguson) was a three-time All-American during her time as a student (1980–84), bronze medalist in the 200 meters at the 2001 World Track and Field Championships, and a gold medalist as a member of Team USA’s 4×100 meter relay team at the World Games. Appointed head coach in 1998, she resigned April 15, 2002, during an investigation into her use of the identity of Kelli White, a former UT All American and a world-class athlete at the time, to obtain a line of credit from an Ohio bank. Ferguson was indicated for the identity theft and was subsequently indicted for stealing money meant for two athletes and another coach.
Ferguson had spent eight years as an assistant track coach at Louisiana State University and a year (1996–97) as a UT Women’s team assistant before being named head track and field coach. She was the first African American head coach of a UT women’s intercollegiate.