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Northeastern University Athletics

Northeastern Huskies

Varsity Club Hall of Fame

Irwin Cohen

Irwin M. Cohen

  • Class
    1961
  • Induction
    1978
  • Sport(s)
    Men's Cross Country/Track & Field

Irwin M. Cohen was elected to the Hall of Fame for his outstanding contributions to Northeastern athletics, as an athlete, coach and administrator.

Cohen became men's athletic director at Northeastern in 1984 and continued as AD when the women's and men's programs merged in 1991. Cohen continued as athletic director until 1993, when he stepped aside to become a Special Assistant to the President until he retired in 1997. He was a track coach at Northeastern since 1962, before taking his role as AD. Cohen brought national recognition to the University as a member of the NCAA Council and chair-man of the NCAA's Student Athlete Advisory Committee. Under his regime, Northeastern upgraded its facilities, bettered its budget procedures and set up a compliance system for NCAA rules and regulations. The University revamped Parsons Field and built a new boathouse and outdoor track. Also, largely through Cohen's work, the women's program reached new levels.

A 1961 graduate of Northeastern, he won varsity letters in 1959 and 1960. In 1962, Coach Gerry Tatton invited Cohen back as an assistant coach and upon Tatton's retirement in 1966 he became the head coach. Since then the rise has been mercurial. Cohen has won so many Greater Boston Collegiate and New England Championships its impossible to mention all of them. Let it suffice five consecutive indoor and four consecutive outdoor New England Titles. It all adds up to a brilliant career. Cohen has also been named New England Track Coach of the Year in 1972, 1974, 1976 and 1977. His peers also recognized his exceptional talents. He is the former president of the GBC, the New England Track and Field Association, the Massachusetts Track and Field Officials Association and the IC4A Coaches Association, and also a delegate to the United States Olympic Committee.
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