Women's Track and Field
- Title:
- Head Track and Field Coach
- Email:
- dkennedy@msubobcats.com
- Phone:
- 406.994.6261
Retirement Announcement
Release | Video
Dale Kennedy holds a special place in Montana State Athletics history. Kennedy began his tenure with Montana State on July 27, 1981 and served as the head track and field coach at MSU for both men and women since 2000, while he also served as director of the cross country program up until 2014. Kennedy was at the helm and developed one of the premier men’s and women’s track and cross country programs in the Mountain Region. After 37 years of coaching at Montana State University and a total of 50 years in the profession, Kennedy announced his retirement in June of 2018. Kennedy will stay on the MSU staff until Oct. 1, 2018.
Under his guidance, Kennedy's track and field teams garnered 206 individual conference titles combined between the indoor and outdoor seasons, with 135 accumulated behind the women's squad. Kennedy's teams earned four Big Sky Championships. He helped lead the women's team to indoor titles in 1983 and 2001, along with an outdoor crown in 2003. Two years later, Kennedy brought the men's team its first Big Sky title during the outdoor campaign in Flagstaff.
Kennedy's best athletes have shined on the NCAA's greatest stage. He's helped develop 45 NCAA qualifiers and 24 have gone on to earn All-America honors. That includes four national championships for the Bobcats by individuals, with Kennedy spearheading Shannon Butler's tremendous efforts in the distance events in the early 90s and serving as head coach during Ellie Rudy's pole vault feats during the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
Montana State has produced multiple USTFCCCA All-Academic individual selections while Kennedy has guided the Bobcats. Over 20 MSU athletes have been named Big Sky Scholar Athletes along with seven that have earned CoSIDA Academic All-American status.
In cross country, coach Kennedy led the Bobcat women to four Big Sky Conference titles, including back-to-back championships in 1985 and 1986 and then again in 1994 and 1995. The 1995 squad finished with a 16th place ranking in the NCAA. His runners earned runner-up status five separate times.
His men's cross country teams won Big Sky titles in 1993 and 2002, while he hlelped guide the Bobcats to an 11th place finish at the NCAA Championships in 2002 and coached Big Sky champion Casey Jermyn.
As a highly respected member of the collegiate coaching ranks, he was selected as an assistant coach for the United States Women’s Indoor Track and Field team that competed in Budapest, Hungary, in 1989. He was also the regional coordinator for the US Olympic Development Committee for Middle Distance/Distance Events and assistant director of Olympic Development camps from 1978 until 1990. He possesses Level I instructor status for the USTAF Coaching Education Program.
Kennedy is a 1968 graduate of Eastern Washington. He and his wife of over 50 years, Terry, have two grown children, Kimberly and Patrick.
