PHOENIX, Ariz. - The highlight on the first day of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Convention will be the inductions of the 2014 class into the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame. The inductions take place on Monday evening at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix and one of the six inductees will be former Villanova standout Tom Donnelly, who has been the men's cross country and track & field head coach at Haverford for the past 40 years. Donnelly will be introduced by Wildcats head coach Marcus O'Sullivan, who was coached by Donnelly during his professional racing career.

Prior to the start of his legendary Haverford coaching career, Donnelly was a member of the Wildcats cross country and track & field program from 1966-69 and was a key part of several national championship teams. Villanova won three consecutive NCAA titles in cross country from 1966-68 and Donnelly was a two-time cross country All-American. He was the team's top finisher at both the 1966 and 1968 championships when he registered overall finishes of seventh and eighth, respectively. Donnelly also came in 23rd at the 1967 national championships and was the Wildcats second runner.

Villanova captured the team title at the 1968 indoor NCAA Championships and Donnelly ran the 800 meters leg of the distance medley relay, which was one of four events that the Wildcats won on the way to wrapping up the team title. Donnelly was also a three-time Penn Relays champion during his Villanova career, as he helped the Wildcats win the 4xMile relay three consecutive years from 1967-69.

Over the past four decades, Donnelly has become one of the most influential distance coaches in the country. He has remained loyal to his program at Haverford for all those years, and during his career has led the Fords to a total of 70 conference championships while coaching 27 individual NCAA champions and 157 All-Americans across the three different seasons between cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field.

Donnelly reached the pinnacle of coaching when Haverford won the 2010 NCAA Division III Cross Country national title. That team was the first in school history to win a national title and the Fords had five All-Americans, including the individual national champion in Anders Hulleberg. Haverford continued its incredible NCAA run with runner-up finishes in both 2011 and 2012, while this past fall the Fords qualified for the national championships meet for the 22nd straight season.

Haverford has crowned 59 All-Americans at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships during Donnelly's tenure. That total includes 31 All-Americans from individual performances and 28 more from a total of seven different All-American relay teams. Donnelly has mentored 10 national champions indoors.

On the outdoor track, the Fords have won 18 of the last 21 conference championships with its most recent victory coming during the 2013 season. Donnelly has coached 66 individuals to All-America honors during the spring season, including 15 individual national champions.

Donnelly has coached two Division III Hall of Famers, Karl Paranya '97 and Seamus McElligott '91. Paranya went to the 1996 and 2000 Olympic trials and had the first sub-four minute mile in NCAA Division III history. McElligott won NCAA titles in cross country, the indoor 5000 meters and both the outdoor 5000 and 10000 meters.

Throughout his coaching career, Donnelly's student-athletes have impressed on the track and in the classroom. Twelve of his student-athletes have received NCAA postgraduate scholarships, including at least one in four of the past five years. Andrew Lanham was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship in 2010 and became the first Haverford athlete since 1982 to earn that honor.

Donnelly is one of six members of the Class of 2014 who will be inducted into the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame. The other honorees are Chris Draymont (St. Olaf), Joey Haines (Southeast Missouri, Austin Peay, Lipscomb), Lance Harter (Arkansas, Cal Poly), Ed Nuttycombe (Wisconsin) and the late Johnny Thomas (Southern). All six will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame for their significant impacts not only on the countless student-athletes who competed under their tutelage but also on the sports of track & field and cross country as a whole.

Started in 1995, the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame exists to recognize coaches who have brought great distinction to themselves, to their institutions and to the sports of cross country and track & field. Each of the honorees exemplifies the qualities of dedication to the sport, leadership and passion for their profession that serve as an inspiration to coaches everywhere in the sport.

The USTFCCCA Convention is being held in Arizona for the first time in seven years. The convention takes place from December 15-18 in Phoenix and more than 1400 college and high school coaches will gather for a week of development sessions and seminars, legislative voting sessions, social gatherings and two of the premier events in collegiate track & field: The Bowerman and the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.