University of St. Thomas Athletics
5X national champ coach Joe Sweeney eyes the finish line
10/12/2021 9:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
42-year coach announces plans to retire at end of calendar year
After a decorated 42-year coaching career of developing women's cross country and track and field athletes to national and conference excellence, Joe Sweeney has announced plans to retire from his University of St. Thomas roles at the end of the 2021 calendar year.
Sweeney is the longest tenured current employee in St. Thomas Athletics. His 42-year affiliation with women's cross country is also the longest run for a head coach in university history.
Sweeney helped build Tommie women's cross country and track and field from its earliest seasons, not long after fall 1977, when females were first enrolled as undergraduate students.
Starting as a full-time coach here in 1980-81, he went on to construct one of NCAA Division III's elite cross country and track and field programs. Then over the last 15 months, he's oversaw both sports' transition into Division I as new members of the Summit League and their inaugural 2021-22 seasons.
Sweeney's CC teams won the 1981 AIAW national crown and followed that with four NCAA team championships -- 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987. Four other Purple teams were NCAA runners-up: 1983, 1985, 1988 and 1996.
"It has been a great ride, and I have enjoyed nothing more than bringing high-achieving student athletes to St. Thomas and seeing them accomplish amazing things," Sweeney said. "I'm proud of all our outstanding women who helped build a winning culture and instilled in each other an unspoken expectation of success. I would not have done this for 42 years if it wasn't for them.
"I tried to provide a quality team experience, and they responded with a burning desire to succeed, representing St. Thomas in the best way possible. If I inspired them to do that, it was my pleasure."
His CC and indoor/outdoor track and field teams posted 28 top-five NCAA team finishes in all. Tommie Cross Country had 16 top-7 national finishes and had a cross country All-America or a team in the national meet 30 out of his 40 seasons.
Sweeney's athletes won 28 individual NCAA titles -- two in cross country, 26 in track & field, with more than 165 All-Americans. The Tommies were the first Minnesota program to win an NCAA women's track relay championship (4x100 in 1997), and had four NCAA relay crowns in all (Distance Medley Relay indoors, 2010, 2015, 2016). St. Thomas track and field under men's coach Steve Mathre and women's leader Sweeney sent a women's or men's relay team into the finals at outdoor nationals a remarkable 34 consecutive years before the streak ended in 2016.
Sweeney was named the 1995 National Coach of the Year in track and field and was honored as MIAC Coach of the Year 23 times, most recently in May 2021.
A Chicago, Ill., native, Sweeney was a standout distance runner himself for the Tommies during the mid 1970s and was elected into the St. Thomas Athletic Hall of Fame. Joe and wife Kathleen reside in New Brighton and have raised five children.
His current cross country team has two meets remaining in fall 2021, including the first D-I Summit League Championship race set for Oct. 30.
"Coach Sweeney has been part of the fabric of our St. Thomas community for the better part of five decades, and we're so fortunate for that," said Phil Esten, Vice-President and Director of Athletics. "Not only has his impact been felt on the cross country course and on the track, but he's positively influenced the lives of hundreds of student-athletes in their families, businesses and communities.
"We are thankful for Joe's leadership and blessed to have been the beneficiary of his engagement. I'm deeply grateful for the genuine care Joe demonstrated for the student-athlete experience in his many years with the Tommies, and I wish Kathleen and him all the best as they begin their next chapter."
MIAC Magic
Under Sweeney, St. Thomas teams captured 86 of a possible 115 MIAC team championships contested in the sports of CC, indoor track, outdoor track. That's the most conference team crowns by any coach in Division III women's sports.
Tommie Women's Track and Field won its 16th consecutive MIAC outdoor title in 2021 and its 34th of the last 36 meets held (2020 outdoor and 2021 indoor meets were not contested). The 2020 St. Thomas indoor team won the program's 21st consecutive championship and 33rd in 36 seasons. Tommie Ccross country won 17 of the 39 conference titles contested in our D-III chapter.
The championships were won in impressive streaks: each of the last 21 contested in indoor track (2000-2020); 14, outdoor track (1985-98); 16, outdoor track (2004-2021); 9, indoor track (1989-97); and 9, cross country (1981-89). The Toms also swept the MIAC "triple crown" for CC, indoor and outdoor track titles four times: 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2016-17.
Besides the St. Thomas successes in CC and on the track, Sweeney's teams have been excellent students and active members of the campus scene. Eleven of Sweeney's athletes won elite CoSIDA Academic All-America awards, and four won prestigious NCAA Postgraduate scholarships. Both teams regularly have average grade-point averages of 3.50 or higher.
A search for Sweeney's replacement for his CC and track and field head coaching roles is underway and updates will be provided soon.
