Nebraska Wesleyan University Athletics

Previously an All-American for the Prairie Wolves, Chris Baum has been an assistant coach for the track and field team at Nebraska Wesleyan since 1991 coaching the high jump and pole vault.

After dominating the collegiate level as an athlete, Baum turned to coaching the Prairie Wolves. Baum has coached a total of 42 All-American awards and six national titles. He was also recognized as a winner of the AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year Award in 2004.  In the fall of 2011, Baum was inducted into the NWU Athletic Hall of Fame as he won the Spirit of the Plainsmen Award. 

In 2026, Baum's pole vaulters continued to stake their claim as one of the top groups within the American Rivers Conference.
 
Freshman Angelina Schademann vaulted to all-time top 10 performances in school history both indoors and outdoors while notching one all-conference honor in the pole vault. Teammate Libby Driver also found herself on the all-time top 10 chart. With the men and women combined, Baum had four performances in the pole vault that earned all-conference honors. 

A three-time Conference Champion and All-American himself, Baum is a 1991 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and health (K-12). He has earned his master’s degree in education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he studied post-secondary athletic administration.
           
Baum also currently works as a physical education instructor at Humann Elementary School. He and his wife, Stephanie, have two children Jacob and Avery.