Northeastern Track & Field, Cross Country Head Coach Sherman Hart

BOSTON, Mass. (May 30, 2012) - Northeastern University Director of Athletics and Recreation Peter Roby announced Wednesday that track and field and cross country head coach Sherman Hart has retired after 24 years with the university. A national search for a new head coach will begin immediately.

"We appreciate Sherman's many years of service to the department and the university," said Roby. "His teams and his student-athletes provided us with many memorable moments. They achieved in the classroom and they returned Northeastern to a place of prominence in the track and field and cross country communities, and for that we are grateful."

Under Hart's leadership, the university's track and field programs have been perennial conference and New England powers. The women's program won a combined 20 indoor and outdoor America East titles during his tenure, while the men's program claimed seven America East crowns. Hart, who graduated from Northeastern in 1974, helped capture the university's first-ever CAA title in any sport when his women's track and field team won the championship in 2007, just two years after joining the conference. In seven years of CAA competition, Northeastern student-athletes combined to win 22 individual titles. Over the last decade, Northeastern regained footing at the national level as well, with 16 Huskies making a combined 32 NCAA Championship appearances.

Many Northeastern greats honed their trade under Hart's watch, including legends Nate Hunter and Zara Northover, and current Husky Eric Jenkins. Hunter earned multiple All-America honors after numerous top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championship. He also was named CAA Track and Field Athlete of the Year and twice earned the conference's Most Outstanding Field Performer honor. Northover, who represented Jamaica at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, was named CAA Field Athlete of the Year in 2007 after winning the discus, hammer and shot put, and placing seventh in the javelin. She was a five- time NCAA Championship qualifier and earned a 10th-place finish at the 2007 national championship event. Jenkins earned CAA Rookie of the Year honors in track and also was named CAA Cross Country Athlete of the Year in 2011. He earned a spot in the NCAA Championship in the 1500-meter run as just a rookie, and was the only freshman in the field of 24 qualifiers.

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