Men's Track & Field
- Title:
- Coach Emeritus
Ken O'Brien served as head coach of the UMass men's track and field and cross country programs for 50 years before transitioning to his new role as Coach Emeritus for men's cross country and track and field in July 2017.
In O'Brien's 50 seasons coaching cross country and track and field at UMass, the Minutemen won 19 conference titles (Yankee, Atlantic 10 and Eastern), four New England crowns, two IC4A titles and had seven All-America performers.
During the 2008 cross country season, O'Brien was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, as the Minutemen finished first in the league. This was the second-ever Minutemen A-10 Cross Country title, the first coming in 1995.
In 1999, O'Brien was named NCAA District 1 Track and Field Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season, and the fourth time he won the award in track and field to go along with District 1 Coach of the Year honors for cross country on four different occasions in his 50-year career at UMass.
A long time contributor to the sport of track and field, O'Brien has served numerous regional and national associations. He served as secretary of the NCAA Cross Country Coaches Association from 1975-80, has been president of the IC4A coaches association and was re-selected to the coaching staff of the National Olympic Development Distance Runners Training Center at Lake Placid, N.Y.
O'Brien started his first full-time coaching job at the University of Bridgeport (Conn.) in the fall of 1965. Nine months later he guided the program that had never scored a single point in the Collegiate Track Conference Meet to a second-place team finish. He returned to his alma mater in 1966 and served as an assistant coach for 18 months under Bill Footrick before taking over as head coach in 1968.
While an undergrad at UMass, O'Brien won six letters in cross country and track. He competed as a top performer on a cross country squad that won three consecutive Yankee Conference titles and the 1961 New England championship. An outstanding competitor in track and field, his 1:52:70 conference half-mile record remained unbroken for 10 years.
O'Brien, the co-recipient of the ECAC Merit Award in 1963 to the outstanding student-athlete at UMass, graduated with honors from the school of physical education in the same year.
Upon graduation, he served two years as a graduate assistant coach at Ohio University. He worked under the legendary coach, and member of the Track and Field Hall of Fame, Stan Huntsman, earning his Master's degree in 1964 from the Athens, Ohio, institution.
A native of Foxboro, Mass., O'Brien won 10 letters in football, basketball, baseball and track and captained all four sports his senior year at Foxboro High School.
In his spare time, he is a golf and baseball enthusiast and coached a Little League team in Amherst for 23 years.
O'Brien's Year-By-Year Head Coaching Record | ||||||||
Cross Country | Indoor Track | Outdoor Track | Season Notes | |||||
Year | Place | Year | Place | Year | Place | |||
Yankee Conference | ||||||||
1967 | 2nd | 1967-68 | 3rd | 1967-68 | 3rd | -- | ||
1968 | 2nd | 1968-69 | 1st | 1968-69 | 1st | YC Indoor Champions, Outdoor Champions | ||
1969 | 2nd | 1969-70 | 2nd | 1969-70 | 2nd | -- | ||
1970 | 1st | 1970-71 | 2nd | 1970-71 | 1st | YC XC Champions, Outdoor Champions | ||
1971 | 1st | 1971-72 | 1st | 1971-72 | 1st | YC XC, Indoor & Outdoor Champions | ||
1972 | 1st | 1972-73 | 3rd | 1972-73 | 2nd | YC XC Champions | ||
1973 | 1st | 1973-74 | 3rd | 1973-74 | 2nd | YC XC Champions, NE Outdoor Champions | ||
1974 | 1st | 1974-75 | 1st | 1974-75 | 2nd | YC XC & Outdoor Champs, NE XC Champs | ||
1975 | 1st | 1975-76 | 2nd | 1975-76 | 2nd | YC XC Champions, IC4A XC Champions | ||
1976 | 1st | 1976-77 | 2nd | 1976-77 | 2nd | YC XC Champions | ||
1977 | 1st | 1977-78 | 3rd | 1977-78 | 2nd | YC XC Champions | ||
1978 | 1st | 1978-79 | 5th | 1978-79 | 3rd | YC XC Champions, IC4A XC Champions | ||
1979 | 3rd | 1979-80 | 4th | 1979-80 | 4th | -- | ||
1980 | -- | 1980-81 | -- | 1980-81 | -- | -- | ||
Eastern Conference | ||||||||
1981 | 1st | 1981-82 | -- | 1981-82 | -- | EIAA XC Champions | ||
1982 | 2nd | 1982-83 | 2nd | 1982-83 | 1st | EIAA Outdoor Champions | ||
1983 | 7th | 1983-84 | 3rd | 1983-84 | 3rd | -- | ||
1984 | 5th | 1984-85 | 5th | 1984-85 | 3rd | -- | ||
1985 | 3rd | 1985-86 | 2nd | 1985-86 | 2nd | -- | ||
1986 | 3rd | 1986-87 | 2nd | 1986-87 | 2nd | -- | ||
1987 | 3rd | 1987-88 | 2nd | 1987-88 | 2nd | New England XC Champions | ||
1988 | 4th | 1988-89 | 3rd | 1988-89 | 5th | -- | ||
1989 | 1st | 1989-90 | 3rd | 1989-90 | 3rd | EIAA XC Champions | ||
1990 | 4th | 1990-91 | 3rd | 1990-91 | 3rd | -- | ||
1991 | 2nd | 1991-92 | 3rd | 1991-92 | 3rd | -- | ||
1992 | 6th | 1992-93 | -- | 1992-93 | 3rd | -- | ||
1993 | 2nd | 1993-94 | -- | 1993-94 | -- | -- | ||
Atlantic 10 Conference
|
||||||||
1978 | 4th | 1978-79 | -- | 1978-79 | -- | -- | ||
1979 | 4th | 1979-80 | -- | 1979-80 | -- | -- | ||
1980 | 2nd | 1980-81 | -- | 1980-81 | -- | -- | ||
1981 | 3rd | 1981-82 | -- | 1981-82 | -- | -- | ||
1982 | 5th | 1982-83 | -- | 1982-83 | -- | -- | ||
1983 | T-4th | 1983-84 | -- | 1983-84 | -- | -- | ||
1984 | 4th | 1984-85 | -- | 1984-85 | -- | -- | ||
1985 | 3rd | 1985-86 | -- | 1985-86 | -- | -- | ||
1986 | 3rd | 1986-87 | -- | 1986-87 | -- | -- | ||
1987 | 2nd | 1987-88 | -- | 1987-88 | -- | -- | ||
1988 | 2nd | 1988-89 | -- | 1988-89 | -- | -- | ||
1989 | 3rd | 1989-90 | -- | 1989-90 | -- | -- | ||
1990 | 3rd | 1990-91 | -- | 1990-91 | -- | -- | ||
1991 | 2nd | 1991-92 | -- | 1991-92 | -- | -- | ||
1992 | 3rd | 1992-93 | 6th | 1992-93 | -- | -- | ||
1993 | 3rd | 1993-94 | -- | 1993-94 | -- | -- | ||
1994 | 2nd | 1994-95 | 4th | 1994-95 | -- | -- | ||
1995 | 1st | 1995-96 | 3rd | 1995-96 | -- | A-10 XC Champions, COTY (XC) | ||
1996 | 3rd | 1996-97 | 4th | 1996-97 | 2nd | -- | ||
1997 | 5th | 1997-98 | 5th | 1997-98 | 2nd | -- | ||
1998 | 5th | 1998-99 | 3rd | 1998-99 | 2nd | -- | ||
1999 | 4th | 1999-00 | 2nd | 1999-00 | 2nd | -- | ||
2000 | 4th | 2000-01 | 4th | 2000-01 | 2nd | -- | ||
2001 | 3rd | 2001-02 | 4th | 2001-02 | 2nd | -- | ||
2002 | 6th | 2002-03 | -- | 2002-03 | 3rd | -- | ||
2003 | 7th | 2003-04 | 5th | 2003-04 | 3rd | -- | ||
2004 | 5th | 2004-05 | 5th | 2004-05 | 6th | -- | ||
2005 | 6th | 2005-06 | 5th | 2005-06 | 7th | -- | ||
2006 | 3rd | 2006-07 | 4th | 2006-07 | 8th | -- | ||
2007 | T-3rd | 2007-08 | 5th | 2007-08 | 4th | -- | ||
2008 | 1st | 2008-09 | 7th | 2008-09 | 10th | A-10 Champions, COTY (XC) | ||
2009 | 2nd | 2009-10 | 5th | 2009-10 | 4th | -- | ||
2010 | 3rd | 2010-11 | 4th | 2010-11 | 4th | -- | ||
2011 | 5th | 2011-12 | 8th | 2011-12 | 8th | -- | ||
2012 | T-8th | 2012-13 | 9th | 2012-13 | 9th | -- | ||
2013 | 4th | 2013-14 | 6th | 2013-14 | 6th | -- | ||
2014 | 7th | 2014-15 | 6th | 2014-15 | 5th | -- | ||
2015 | 2nd | 2015-16 | 3rd | 2015-16 | 5th | -- | ||
2016 | 9th | 2016-17 | 3rd | 2016-17 | 3rd | -- | ||
19 Conference Championships (2 Atlantic 10 Championships - Cross Country: 1995 & 2008) (2 Eastern Conference Championships - Cross Country: 1981 | Outdoor Track: 1981-82) (15 Yankee Conference Championships - Cross Country (9): 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 | Indoor Track (3): 1968-69, 1971-72, 1974-75 | Outdoor Track (3): 1968-69, 1970-71, 1971-72) Atlantic 10 Cross Country Coach of the Year - 1995 & 2008 3 New England Championships (Cross Country: 1973 & 1987 | Outdoor Track: 1981-82) 2 IC4A Championships (Cross Country: 1974 & 1977) |