Awards & Honors
- 12-time Liberty League Cross Country Coach of the Year (2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
- Three-time Liberty League Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year (2008-09, 2010-11, 2013-14)
Co-captain of the 1993 men's cross country team and a four-year runner for the Saints in cross country and indoor and outdoor track, John Newman became the head coach of the men's cross country program in 2001. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in sports studies in the spring of 1994 and his Master's Degree in education in 2001.
Newman has played a major role in the success of the men's cross country program which won 20 straight conference titles and five New York State Collegiate Track and Field Conference cross country titles. He guided St. Lawrence to the 2014 NCAA Regional Championship, the fourth in program history ('97, '00 and '11) as well as the program's best finish at the NCAA Championship race in 2010, finishing third overall. His team was 10th in 2014.
Newman, a native of Canton, N.Y., has coached 12 All-Americans and 13 individual conference champions in cross country and has been Liberty League Cross Country Coach of the Year in 12 of the last 15 seasons. He was also the 2011 and 2014 NCAA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year.
Since also taking over the leadership of the men's track and field program in 2008, his teams have won three NYSCTC indoor championships, two ECAC Indoor Championships and two Liberty League indoor championships. The Saints have had six All Americas including a national champion during his tenure.
Newman is a member of USA Track and Field and the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). He was an honorary inductee into Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) in the spring of 2011.
In addition to his coaching duties, Newman has previously served as the St. Lawrence Director of Intramurals and Recreation and started the NYSCTC web site in 2000. Newman has also served as the Atlantic Region Rankings Coordinator in 2004 and 2005. Prior to accepting his position as the assistant coach in 1994, he worked as a physical education teacher at St. Mary's Catholic School. John won the World Junior Championship for solo marathon canoe racing in Ottawa, Ontario in 1991 as well as the USCA Jr. National Ironman Canoe Triathlon Championship in Auburn, N.Y. in 1990.
“I believe that athletics play an integral role in a small liberal arts college setting and provide a valuable dimension in which personal, mental, social and physical growth can be enriched. My role is to motivate and educate each of our student-athletes as they strive to achieve their personal and team goals. I also aspire to be a sound role model for our athletes, whether in academics, athletics, family life or citizenship,” said Newman in defining his coaching philosophy.
Newman lives in Canton with his wife and two children and remains active in both the running and canoe-racing communities.
