Aug. 22, 2000

STONY BROOK, N.Y. - The athletic department at the University at Stony Brook announced July 30 that Andrew Ronan has been hired as the head coach of the men's and women's cross country and track and field programs. Ronan takes over for Jim Meegan, who coached the programs for six seasons.

Ronan comes to Stony Brook after a six-year stay at Providence College, where he was the associate head coach for the men's cross country and track and field programs and the assistant coach for the women's programs. During that time, Ronan helped lead the women's cross country program to the 1995 Division I cross country national championship. Known for his expertise in middle and long distance running events, Ronan assisted the Friars' programs in winning six Big East cross country titles since 1994. The men won back-to-back national championships in 1995 and 1996 and captured another in 1998. The women's program won three straight rings from 1995-1997.

This past season, the women's program won the NCAA regional meet (34 teams) and took a 10th place finish in its 11th consecutive appearance at the NCAA championships. The men's team finished second regionally and took a 19th-place finish in its fifth consecutive NCAA championship appearance.

Ronan has been associated with the development of two NCAA individual champions, two Olympians, 37 All-Americans and six Big East champions. Most recently, Ben Noad won the 1998 Big East cross country championship, posting the second-best performance in the conference's history with a time of 23:37. In 1996, Marie McMahon posted a time of 16:36 on the women's side. It still stands as the third-best women's time in the conference's history.

Prior to Providence, Ronan was the head coach of the men's and women's track and field program at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, and served as head coach of the men's and women's cross country teams at Our Lady of Providence High School from 1986-1988.

A 1986 graduate of Providence, Ronan was an outstanding athlete himself in both cross country and track and field. Ronan was among the first All-Americans in Friars' history, capturing the honor in 1984 and 1986. A native of Wexford, Ireland, Ronan won four Big East titles, winning the 5,000-meter indoor title twice and the 10,000-meter outdoor championship twice.

Ronan continued to compete after graduation, finishing third at the 1991 Boston Marathon (2:11.27) and fourth at the 1989 Twin Cities Marathon (2:13.49). He also represented his native Ireland in the marathon at the Barcelona Olympics and competed in the World Cross Country Championships in 1982 and 1989.

Ronan was a 1986 winner of the Mel Brown Award at Providence, honoring his leadership, dedication and commitment to excellence in athletics and academics at the college. He was inducted into the Providence College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999.

Ronan earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from Providence in 1986 and went on to earn a master's degree in business administration in 1990.