During the June 6-9 week of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., the greatest collegiate coach in the history of the sport stayed content at his Arkansas home with his wife Ellen.
Coach John McDonnell is cattleman John McDonnell now, still interested in Arkansas Razorbacks track and field and cross country but retired in 2008 from coaching Razorbacks, coached by him since 1972 and feeling 10 years removed from the flow of big meet adrenaline.
“I hate to say it, but that part of my life is over,” McDonnell said. “I’ll watch a meet if Arkansas is involved but not otherwise.