Tim Connelly Position: Head Women's Cross Country Coach Alma Mater: Notre Dame '83

As the Notre Dame women's cross country team continues to establish itself as one of the best in the nation, the man standing at the forefront of that emergence has been Tim Connelly.

Now in his 20th season at Notre Dame, Connelly not only serves as the head coach of the Irish women's cross country team, but also tutors the middle distance and distance runners during the indoor and outdoor track seasons. As one of the longest tenured active assistants at the University, he is closely involved with all aspects of the Notre Dame track & field/cross country program and is known as one of the best recruiters in the Midwest.

Since taking over the Irish women's cross country program during its infancy in 1988, Connelly has helped Notre Dame reach unprecedented heights, finishing among the top 10 at the NCAA Championship the four of the past five seasons. Notre Dame also has garnered a trip to the awards podium twice, finishing in a program-best third place in 2002, followed by a fourth-place showing in 2004.

However, that hardly begins to scratch the surface of Connelly's accomplishments during his nearly two-decade run at Notre Dame. The Irish women also have won three BIG EAST Conference titles (all in the past five seasons) and placed either first or second at five of the past six NCAA Great Lakes Regional meets. What's more, Notre Dame harriers have collected 14 All-America honors and 24 all-BIG EAST cross country citations since the Irish joined the conference in 1995-96.

On the track, the Notre Dame women's distance program has grown exponentially in recent years. Irish runners have earned no fewer than 19 All-America certificates, including 14 in the past six years alone, while Connelly's athletes have advanced to NCAA Championship competition 34 times (14 indoors/20 outdoors).

In addition, Notre Dame women's distance runners have garnered all-conference status 62 times and won 10 BIG EAST individual titles (as well as the 2003 distance medley relay crown) during the past 12 seasons. The Irish thinclads also have played a critical role in a pair of team titles at the BIG EAST Indoor Championship (`02, 2006) and one BIG EAST Outdoor Championship (2007), as well as nine runner-up finishes at conference meets (five indoor, four outdoor).

For his efforts, Connelly has been richly rewarded with numerous coaching honors. He has been chosen for the BIG EAST Women's Cross Country Coaching Staff of the Year award three times (`02, 2003, 2005) and has been part of the BIG EAST Women's Indoor Track & Field Coaching Staff of the Year twice (`02, `06) and the BIG EAST Women's Outdoor Track & Field Coaching Staff of the Year once (2007).

Under Connelly's tutelage, the Notre Dame's distance program was able to excel in 2007, playing a large role in helping the Irish win their first BIG EAST outdoor championship since joining the league in 1995-96. Connelly produced six top eight finishers, bringing in points for the Irish. The women's cross country team season ended with a third-place finish at the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships and a fifth-place finish at the Great Lakes Regional meet, just shy of a bid to the national meet. The conference finish was the fifth consecutive top-three BIG EAST finish by the Irish women.

Senior Molly Huddle led the women's distance with a runner-up performance in the 5,000m at the BIG EAST indoor championships and a double crown at the BIG EAST outdoor championships in the 5,000m and the 10,000m only the third multiple winner of the honor since its inception in 1993, and the first back-to-back recipient since former Irish All-American Liz Grow took the hardware in 2001 and 2002. Yolanda McCray of Miami (Fla.) was the other two-time honoree in 1997 and 1999. Her outdoor performance earned her BIG EAST Outstanding Outdoor Track Performer honors. She went on to the NCAA Mideast Regional meet to win her fourth consecutive 5,000m title to pave her way to the national meet where she became a ten-time All-American after taking third in the 5,000m.

Connelly's charges were at the forefront of a nearly historic run in 2005-06, as Notre Dame came within 10 points at the conference's outdoor meet of becoming the first school in 18 seasons to win the BIG EAST women's "triple crown" (cross country, indoor track, outdoor track). It all started with an impressive 25-point win at the BIG EAST Cross Country Championship, with the 34-point Irish performance the best scoring outing by any league school since 1994. Notre Dame had four of the top eight runners in the field, giving the Irish their largest-ever crop of all-conference honorees.

That outing preceded a runner-up showing at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, where Notre Dame once again was dominant up front with four of the top 10 runners in the meet (including a 2-3 finish by Stephanie Madia and Molly Huddle). The Irish then capped the 2005 season with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championship, highlighted by a program-best three All-America performances (Madia, Huddle and Sunni Olding). In fact, Madia's third-place finish and time of 19:48.4 were the best-ever by a Notre Dame woman, while Huddle joined Lauren King as the second three-time women's cross country All-American in school history.

Moving indoors on the track, Connelly skillfully guided the Irish distance corps to a solid `06 campaign. Jacqueline Carter and Brianne Schmidt made excellent strides in the middle distances, notching school records in the 800- and 1,000-meter runs, respectively. Madia was strong at the longer distances, peaking well late in the year with two of the top-four 5,000-meter times in school history before earning her second All-America honor with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championship.

Huddle then took center stage during the `06 outdoor season, posting the nation's fastest times at both 5,000 and 10,000 meters, and becoming only the second woman in BIG EAST history to win both races at the conference meet. She went on to be named the BIG EAST Outstanding Outdoor Track Performer, as well as the USTFCCCA Great Lakes District Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year and won her third NCAA Mideast Regional 5,000-meter title in as many tries. Huddle's season ended just short of the brass ring, as she finished second in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Championships, still the best placement ever by an Irish women's track athlete in any event. She also garnered her ninth All-America citation, tying former men's distance runner Ryan Shay for the most ever by a Notre Dame athlete in any sport.

In `04, Huddle had one of the most prolific seasons in Irish track and field history. She was an All-American in the indoor 3,000 and 5,000-meter runs as well as the outdoor 5,000-meters. In all three of these events she also recorded a Notre Dame school record. After the collegiate season ended Connelly accompanied Huddle as she competed in the United States Olympic Trials, eventually finishing seventh in the 5,000 meters as the top non-professional/collegian in the race. A year earlier, Connelly guided Huddle (who finished sixth overall at the NCAA cross country meet) to All-America honors in the indoor 3,000 meters and outdoor 5,000 meters. Huddle capped that season by running away with the U.S. Junior 3,000-Meter Championship at the national meet in Palo Alto, Calif.

A 1983 Notre Dame graduate, Connelly ran both cross country and track for the Irish. Following his graduation, Connelly served as a graduate assistant coach under Joe Piane while working toward his master's degree in business. In 1986, Connelly moved on to Syracuse as an assistant cross country and track coach. During his time in central New York, he coached the men's and women's middle distance and distance runners and managed recruiting duties for both programs.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Connelly and his wife, the former Donna Southerly, are the parents of two children -- daughter, Alexandra, and son, Brendon.