During the first intermission at last week’s men’s hockey game against Colgate, a banner was unfurled in honor of Ned Harkness’s induction into the Hockey Ring of Honor at the Houston Field House.
The presentation began with Athletic Director Ken Ralph’s introduction of the guest of honor. Harkness is a “true Rensselaer legend,” said Ralph. Through his 14-year career as head coach of the Engineers (1949-1963), Harkness led the hockey team to 176 wins, ranking him third highest in number of wins and second in winning percentage (.643) in the school’s history. On Harkness’s coaching, Ralph said that he had “reinvented the game of college hockey,” and cited an impressive 5-4 victory over Minnesota in 1954 that earned RPI its first national championship in hockey. Two other teams under Harkness’ tutelage saw play in the NCAA Tournament, and 10 of his student-athletes were named National All-Americans, of whom six were selected to the first team.
Coach Harkness’s banner was presented to rousing cheers of “Ned! Ned! Ned!” from the gathered fans. “The best fans of all are here at Rensselaer,” said Harkness.
President Shirley Ann Jackson said, “There have been many legends at Rensselaer, but none greater than Ned Harkness.”
The Engineers’ 1954 national championship in hockey was not the first championship for Harkness. In 1952, he led the men’s lacrosse team to the national championship, and coupled with the 1954 hockey championship, became the first NCAA coach to win national championships in two sports.
A native of Ottawa, Harkness has already received many honors as an inductee to the RPI Athletics Hall of Fame, the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, and the United States Lacrosse Hall of Fame. His banner joins those of Adam Oates ’85 and Joe Juneau ’91. Oates was inducted in 2004, and Juneau in 2005.
After the presentation, Harkness said that this was his “greatest thrill in a long time.” He also gave his support to new men’s hockey Head Coach Seth Appert saying, “He’s a good coach, and this team has all the ingredients to be a total winner.”
After his tenure at RPI, Harkness continued as a coach at Cornell University and Union College and then joined the National Hockey League’s Detroit Red Wings where he eventually served as general manager. Harkness has also served as the director of the Glens Falls Civic Center and as president and chief executive officer of the Olympic Regional Development Authority.
On whether the Engineers could come back from Colgate’s early 2-0 lead after the first period, Harkness predicted the team to pull it out. They did so, claiming a 3-2 victory in overtime.
