SJU Hockey Coach John Harrington
3/31/08 - SJU Head Coach John Harrington Resigns Following 15 Seasons - Release
John Harrington ended his 15th season as head coach at Saint John's University in 2007-08. Harrington, a member of the 1980 and 1984 U.S. Olympic hockey teams, has guided the Johnnies to a 241-142-31 (.620) record during his 15 years with the program. Entering the 2007-08 season, Harrington was 13th all-time in NCAA Division III history based on winning percentage.
The winningest hockey coach in school history, Harrington has led the Johnnies to five MIAC regular season titles, the MIAC playoffs 13 times and the NCAA tournament five times, including 2003 and 2005. Harrington's 15 years at SJU is the longest tenure of any hockey coach in school history. Harrington collected his 200th career win on Feb. 12, 2005 in front of a NCAA Division III record crowd of 4,410 as SJU defeated St. Thomas.
The 1994, 1996, 2003 and 2004 MIAC Coach of the Year, Harrington's Johnnies posted a 13-12-2, 8-6-2 MIAC record in 2007-08. In 1995-96, Harrington directed SJU to its first MIAC regular season title since 1950, its second trip to the MIAC playoff finals and its first-ever bid to the NCAA Div. III tournament. In 1996-97, the Johnnies repeated as MIAC regular season and playoff champions and entered the NCAA Division III tournament as the number one seed in the west region. The Johnnies proceeded to advance to the NCAA Div. III hockey final four and brought home the third-place trophy.
Harrington, a 1979 graduate of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, was an assistant hockey coach at St. Cloud State University from 1990 to 1993. Prior to his move to St. Cloud, Harrington worked as an assistant coach at the University of Denver from 1984 to 1990.
As a player, Harrington was a standout prep athlete at Virginia High School and starred with Minnesota-Duluth from 1975 to 1979. He gained fame as a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that captured the gold medal at the Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York.
Harrington played hockey in Lugano, Switzerland for one season, 1980-81, before returning home as a member of the U.S. National Hockey Team in the 1981, 1982, and 1983 World Hockey Championships. He completed his international playing career as a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic Hockey team that competed in Sarajevo.
A member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Harrington received the Lester Patrick Award in 1980 for outstanding service to hockey in the U.S. He is a charter member of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, a 1990 inductee into the Minnesota Olympic Hall of Fame and a 2001 inductee into the Minnesota-Duluth Athletic Hall of Fame.
In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Harrington has served as an assistant coach at the U.S. Junior Olympic Festival (1992) and National Sports Festivals (1990, 1983). He also served as an assistant coach at Apple Valley High School from 1981 to 1984. In 1995, Harrington served as head coach of Team North at the Olympic Sports Festival in Denver, Colo. Team North won gold medal honors at the festival, which featured some of the top prep and collegiate players in the country. Harrington was president of the American College Hockey Coaches Association during the 1999-2000 season. In December 2006, Harrington was named Secretary-Rules Editor of the NCAA Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules Committee.
During the winter of 2006-07, Harrington served as an assistant coach for Team USA at the World Junior Championships in Siljan, Sweden.
Harrington and his wife Mary reside in St. Cloud. They have three children Chris, Leah and Patty. Chris is a rookie defenseman on the Toronto Maple Leafs' AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies.
Year / Overall / MIAC / Pct.
1993-94 / 14-11-1 / 11-4-1 / .558
1994-95 / 10-12-3 / 7-7-2 / .460
1995-96 / 17-10-4 / 11-1-4 / .613
1996-97 / 26-6-1 / 14-2-0 / .803
1997-98 / 17-10-0 / 12-4-0 / .630
1998-99 / 13-12-2 / 10-4-2 / .519
1999-00 / 12-12-3 / 7-6-3 / .500
2000-01 / 15-12-4 / 10-4-2 / .548
2001-02 / 14-10-2 / 9-5-2 / .577
2002-03 / 20-7-1 / 13-2-1 / .732
2003-04 / 22-4-1 / 15-1-0 / .833
2004-05 / 23-3-2 / 14-1-1 / .857
2005-06 / 16-7-3 / 11-3-2 / .615
2006-07 / 9-14-2 / 6-9-1 / .400
2007-08 / 13-12-2 / 8-6-2 / .519
Total / 241-142-31 / 158-59-23 / .620
Athletic Department
Saint John’s University
PO Box 7277
Collegeville, MN 56321
320-363-2757
Fax 320-363-3130
E-Mail Marilyn Koltes