“The women's track and field program at UW-Whitewater has made solid and progressive strides over the years.", said UW-W director of athletics Dr. Paul Plinske. "We now have strong participation numbers and are experiencing some great performances from individuals in numerous events. When Dave Wiederrecht resigned last week, we needed to move quickly to find a person that had an understanding of UW-Whitewater, the women's track program, and could help us build on our program development and individual successes. Rather than look outside of Whitewater, I decided that we had a great candidate in Josh Ireland.”

 
Ireland has been part of the Warhawk track and field program for some time as he competed for the Warhawks as a four year letter winner in the sprints, was a team captain in 2009, and earned three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Scholastic Honor Roll mentions. He obtained his master's degree in health and human performance from UW-Whitewater in August 2010. He brings experience from the Indiana Invaders Elite Track Club, Marquette University, UW-Whitewater, and the Wisconsin Athletic Club. While with these organizations Ireland performed a variety of tasks ranging from recruiting and personal training, to coaching multiple track and field events, and fostering strength and conditioning programs.

Ireland said, "I'm honored to be named the new head women's track and field coach at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. This is a dream come true, to get a head coaching job at my alma mater. I love the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and I will always have a special place for this university in my heart. I'm excited to get the opportunity to work with such great student-athletes and coaching staff members. Our team goal for this year is to improve ourselves both academically and athletically. I feel this program is a sleeping giant and its time we wake this giant up and get things rolling!" 

Athletic Director Dr. Paul Plinske also said, “I'm extremely excited about Josh and his ability to lead our women's track and field program. He has a passion for the university, the sport of track and field, and will bring a fresh approach to our women's team. He will use existing staff to help him develop a sound philosophy for all aspects of this program. It is my belief that the coaches and student-athletes will rally around him to make the 2011 season a great experience for all—on and off the track.”