Ned Harkness

Ned Harkness coached the USA lacrosse team at the 1948 London Olympics in the demonstration sport. He is far better known in the United States as an ice hockey coach, often considered among the greatest ever college coaches in that sport.

Harkness grew up in Ontario but moved near Albany, New York as a child and became a US citizen in 1949. He began coaching at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in 1941, leading the hockey and lacrosse teams. In 1948 the RPI lacrosse team was chosen as the US representative for the London Olympics. He led RPI to the 1952 NCAA Championship and an undefeated record.

Harkness later moved to Cornell University in 1963, where he again coached both sports. At both RPI and Cornell his coaching record in lacrosse was 147 wins, 27 losses, and 2 ties. He was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2001.

At RPI, Harkness led the hockey team to the 1954 NCAA Championship. At Cornell he led them to the NCAA title in 1967 and 1970, with an undefeated record in 1970. His record in hockey at Cornell was 163-27-2. He would eventually be inducted into the Lake Placid Hall of Fame (1993), the RPI Hockey Ring of Honor (2007), and the US Hockey Hall of Fame in 1994.

In 1970 Harkness was recruited by the NHL and coached the Detroit Red Wings for part of one season, although it was a dismal season. He became general manager of the Red Wings for three seasons before returning to college at Union College. He coached there for five years but left in 1978 when his recruiting to be sub-standard, admitting many players in their early 20s. He was well-liked by his team and was somewhat forced out, with the team members refusing to play the remainder of the season.

In his later years Harkness became director of the Glens Falls Civic Center and president of the New York Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), which ran the Olympic facilities for the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games. He was responsible for the construction of the US Olympic Training Center in 1989-90.