FAYETTEVILLE — John McDonnell,
the University of Arkansas legendary men’s cross country and track and field coach, passed away Monday, June 7, 2021, at the age of 82. He was born July 2, 1938, in Crossmolina, Ireland, to Michael McDonnell and Bridget (Hopkins) McDonnell. He was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Tontitown, Ark.
Coach McDonnell established a legacy of success unrivaled in the history of NCAA athletics producing 42 NCAA championships, including five national triple crowns and 12 consecutive NCAA Indoor titles from 1984-95.
McDonnell’s 42 national titles are more than any coach in any single-gender program in the history of collegiate athletics. He won 20 conference triple crowns, 34 consecutive cross country conference championships, including 17 straight in the Southeastern Conference, and earned 80 national and conference Coach of the Year awards in his 36-year Hall of Fame career with the Razorbacks. The United States Track and Field and cross country Coaches Association annually awards the John McDonnell Division I men’s program of the year in his honor.
From County Mayo, Ireland, McDonnell became head cross country coach of the Razorbacks in 1972, and head track and field coach in 1977-78. His teams won 20 national championships in indoor track, 11 in outdoor track and 11 in cross-country. Among McDonnell’s total of 83 conference titles, 45 were claimed in the SEC with 38 from the SWC. Razorback athletes earned 652 All-America honors during his coaching tenure.
In addition to being inducted into numerous halls of fame, Arkansas’s outdoor facility is named John McDonnell Field and features a statue of him.
He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Patrick McDonnell and Leo McDonnell; and two sisters, Catherine McDonnell and Annie Griffin.
He is survived by his wife of 54 years Ellen (Elias) McDonnell; one son, Sean McDonnell of Fayetteville, Ark.; one daughter, Heather McDonnell Hastings and husband, Jeffery, of Fayetteville, Ark.; three sisters, Philomena Pena of Barcelona, Spain, Mary McDonnell and Margaret Carr, both of Ballina, Ireland; one brother, Michael McDonnell and wife, Jane, of Edmond, Okla.; a sister-in-law, Una McDonnell of Crossmolina, Ireland; and two grandchildren, Noah and Christopher Hastings.
A rosary will be recited at 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 10, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Fayetteville, with a visitation to follow starting at 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10 a.m. on Friday, June 11, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Fayetteville. If you are unable to attend you may view the service on the St. Joseph Catholic Church Facebook page. Burial will follow at Fairview Memorial Gardens.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Alzheimer’s Association, c/o National Processing Center, Alzheimer’s Association PO Box 96011 Washington, D.C., 20090-6011. To sign the online guest book please visit www.bernafuneralhomes.com.