(Photos by Heather Ainsworth)
Cross Country/Track & Field Head Coach Stepping Down After 28 Years with Raiders
Colgate Vice President and Director of Athletics Victoria M. Chun ’91, MA’94 is recognizing the storied accomplishments of Arthur McKinnon.
Colgate’s Director of Cross Country/Track and Field informed Chun on Tuesday of his decision to retire from coaching after 28 years at Colgate and nearly a half century of service to collegiate and high school students.
“We thank Art for his hard work and service to our university and department for 28 years,” Chun said. “He always put academics and the student-athlete experience at the forefront of all he did.
“We celebrate his many accomplishments and wish him and his wife, Maureen, the very best moving forward.”
McKinnon oversaw both the men’s and women’s programs at Colgate the last two seasons after serving as coach of the men’s cross country and track and field teams since 1988. He is recognized as one of the most knowledgeable track and field mentors in the Patriot League and the Northeast.
“This year was a very special one for me and it is a good time to turn over the leadership,” McKinnon said. “It is with mixed emotions that I announce my decision to retire, but it is with great appreciation that I thank Colgate University for the very special journey I have been provided.”
Helped Create Harry H. Lang Course
McKinnon also thanked the Track & Field Association and alumnus Harry H. Lang. McKinnon helped create Colgate’s Harry H. Lang Cross Country Course, one of the few that host the Patriot League championship races and also host of the annual Harry Lang Invitational that begins the cross country season.
McKinnon coached 38 student-athletes to individual Patriot League crowns – 21 during the indoor championships and 17 outdoor. During his tenure, Colgate individuals have broken six program outdoor records and 16 of 21 indoor records.
“Another proud moment for me was the addition of the women’s track program in 1990,” McKinnon said. “Both programs will reach an all-time roster high in 2016-17 with 37 men and 39 women, and all of the student-athletes are especially strong in the classroom.
“The program is all about the student-athlete experience, and this past semester two women and two men achieved 4.00 grade-point averages. As a team, the women achieved an impressive 3.56 GPA and the men a 3.32.”
In 2001, McKinnon guided the cross country team to victory at the IC4A Championship, and the Raiders finished second in 2002. He was honored as the Patriot League Coach of the Year in 1991. In 1990, his cross country squad finished second at the conference meet and was runner-up at the IC4A University Division Championship – Colgate’s best finish since 1962.
Colgate Was ‘Dream Job’
Before coming to Colgate, McKinnon coached at Dartmouth College and The Huntington School. It was at Huntington that his 1971 cross country team won the New England Prep School championship. He earlier coached at Marta Malden Catholic High School, his Boston-area alma mater, where his team won the Massachusetts State Indoor Championship.
McKinnon spent 20 years in private and public education as a teacher, guidance counselor and as the Director of the Hartford Area Vocational center in Hartford, Vermont.
He graduated from Northeastern University in 1968 and received his master’s degree in education from Boston State College in 1972. McKinnon resides in nearby Bouckville with his wife, Maureen.
“It was my dream job, and it allowed me the opportunity to interact with very special student-athletes and their parents,” McKinnon said. “I also am very proud of how many of my former athletes and coaches are now very successful in the world of coaching cross country and track at the high school and collegiate level.”