Tim Connelly
Tim Connelly
  • Title:
    Associate Head Coach
  • Phone:
    412-268-2220
  • Email:
    tconnell@andrew.cmu.edu
  • Previous College:
    Notre Dame, '83
  • Bachelor's Degree:
    Accountancy
  • Graduate School:
    Notre Dame, '89 / Syracuse, '93
  • Master's Degree:
    MBA / Physical Education - Exercise Science

Bio

Tim Connelly joined the Carnegie Mellon University Department of Athletics as the associate head coach for men's and women's track and field in March 2015. Connelly also serves as the head coach for the men's and women's cross country teams.

Connelly was honored by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as the Mid-Atlantic Region Outdoor Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year in 2022 and 2023. In both seasons, the Tartans had three distance or mid-distance runners compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships while the team accumulated 12 all-region awards in 2022 and six all-region awards in 2023 for the athletes under Connelly’s tutelage.

Connelly has also assisted the men’s program to four UAA Championships and seven second-place finishes while the women’s team had a program-best third-place finish at the 2022 UAA Indoor Championships.

UAA Coaching Staff of the Year Awards
2023 – Men’s Outdoor
2019 – Men’s Indoor
2017 – Men’s Indoor, Men’s Outdoor

As the mid-distance and distance coach, Connelly aided in the development of 2023 NCAA Indoor National Champion Liz Barre who won the pentathlon which included her personal-best time in the 800-meter run to close the event.

Before Barre’s national stage success, Connelly mentored Michael OBroin to a second-place finish in the 5,000-meter run at the 2022 NCAA Indoor National Championships while a pair of juniors earned All-America status in the 800-meter run at the 2023 NCAA Indoor National Championships.

Major Athlete Honors:
All-Americans – Women – 3; Men - 8
NCAA Competitors – Women – 7; Men – 27 + DMR once
All-Region Honors – Women – 14 + DMR 3 times; Men – 58 + DMR six times
UAA Champions – Women – 1; Men – 10 + 2 Relays
All-UAA Honors – Women – 5 + 3 Relays; Men – 42 + 11 Relays
UAA Most Outstanding Performers – Men – 2

Connelly came to Carnegie Mellon with a pedigree of success coaching distance runners after serving 26 years at the University of Notre Dame as the head women’s cross country coach and assistant men’s and women’s track and field coach.

On the track, Connelly coached the women's middle distance and distance runners at Notre Dame as they earned 32 All-America honors under his leadership. He played a huge factor in the Irish’s three BIG EAST indoor and two outdoor championships as well as nine runner-up team finishes at conference meets (four indoor, five outdoor). In addition, Connelly’s women's distance runners won 14 BIG EAST individual titles.

He coached the women’s cross country team to a third-place (2002) and fourth-place (2004) NCAA finish during his tenure. In all, Connelly’s teams have made 12 NCAA team appearances and won three Great Lakes Regionals and two BIG EAST Conference titles. From 1993 to 2014, Connelly mentored 15 All-Americans and 28 All-BIG EAST cross country runners.

He is a three-time BIG EAST Women's Cross Country Coaching Staff of the Year winner (2002, 2003, 2005), part of three BIG EAST Women's Indoor Track & Field Coaching Staffs of the Year (2002, 2006, 2013) and two BIG EAST Women's Outdoor Track & Field Coaching Staffs of the Year (2007, 2013). He also was named Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year three times (2002, 2003, 2009), after the Irish won the region crown.

A 1983 Notre Dame graduate, Connelly ran both cross country and track for the Irish. Following his graduation, Connelly served as a graduate assistant coach under Joe Piane while working toward his master's degree in business.

In 1986, Connelly moved on to Syracuse University as an assistant cross country and track coach. During his time in central New York, he coached the men's and women's middle distance and distance runners and managed recruiting duties for both programs. Connelly also completed a second master's degree in physical education with a concentration in exercise science.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Connelly and his wife, the former Donna Southerly, are the parents of two children -- daughter, Ali, and son, Brendan. Ali is an elementary school teacher who graduated from West Virginia University after competing on the women's soccer team, while Brendan is a recent graduate of DePauw University.